U-19’s Capture 20th Win
Split with Clifton Park
January 21, 2009
The Hitmen U-19 team captured its 20th victory of the season this past Sunday while salvaging a split with the visiting Clifton Park Dynamo. The victory has been elusive for the Hitmen who have been entrenched in nearly a month long slump due to injuries, illnesses and alike. The boys took to the ice this weekend down only one injured player, the closest to a full roster they have seen since the 1st weekend of December, and seemed to regain some of their early season spark.
Saturday nights contest saw the U-19’s take to the ice with tremendous energy pinning the Dynamo is their defensive zone for most of the first period. Despite putting 18 shots on net in the frame the Hitmen were only able to manage one goal. At the 8:28 mark David Rose would win a faceoff back to Scott Steinel who moved the puck back down low to Rose. Rose would then find Ali Thomas sitting all alone on the back door. Rose would move the puck to Thomas who re-directed the pass past a helpless Brendan Wagner to put the Hitmen on the board.
The second frame would see the Dynamo close the energy gap a bit and at 5:38 of the frame found the back of the net while on a 2-man advantage. Anthony Delzotto would pot his first tally of the game with assists to David Ferris and Ted Chrimes. The U-19’s would answer back with just over a minute remaining in the stanza when Kenny Pilanski would jam home a rebound with the help of Dan Monahan and Chris Tamminga. The Hitmen would head to the locker room with a 2-1 lead and a clear advantage in play.
The final frame would see the Hitmen continue to take the play to the Dynamo allowing them only 4 shots on net in the final stanza. The Dynamo however, would make those four shots count. With Vinny Lopes and Scott Steinel both taking bad penalties just 19 seconds apart Niall Cahill would convert on the power play on a feed from Chrimes to draw the Dynamo even at 14:24. The U-19’s would continue to pepper Brendan Wagner throughout the third, but Wagner stood strong denying all Hitmen efforts. With just under 6 minutes remaining Delzotto would once again find the back of the net and put the Dynamo up for good. Despite outshooting the Dynamo by a margin of 49-23 the Hitmen fell one goal short. Despite playing a solid game Anthony Tabbacchino took the loss in net.
“We worked very hard tonight,” commented coach Barling “but we didn’t work smart. Part of being successful is playing the game with the right combination of intensity and intelligence. Tonight we were not intelligent. We put ourselves in to multiple situations where we were forced to kill 5 on 3’s and they burned us twice. If we stay smart we win that game.”
Sunday’s tilt had a much different complexion that Saturday, but on this day the U-19’s would find the intelligence they lacked the night before. The first period saw end to end action early on, and at the 11:18 mark the Dynamo would strike first. With pressure from Dynamo forward Drew Foster, Ali Thomas would turn over the puck just outside of his defensive blueline. Foster collected Thomas’ errant pass and walked in on a breakaway before beating goaltender Matt Braun over the glove. The Hitmen would answer less than five minutes later when Tim Margadonna, playing his first game in a Hitmen uniform, would convert a rebound opportunity off a Nick Lotito shot. The period would end in a 1-1 deadlock and a 10-5 advantage in shots for the home team.
The second period would once again see the two teams trade goals. However, this time is would be the Hitmen who would strike first. While on the power play Kenny Pilanski would score the first of his two goals on the afternoon with assists going to Scott Steinel and Chris Tamminga at the 15:25 mark. The Dynamo would answer at the 5:53 mark when a Drew Foster shot deflected off the shin pads of U-19 defenseman Kei Toeda and on to the tape of Mike Kenny. Kenny would quickly deposit the puck into the top corner before Braun could recover. The Hitmen continued to play determined hockey and at the 4:56 mark their hard work paid off. While on the penalty kill Pilanski would create a turnover at the defensive blueline before streaking down the ice and making a brilliant move to the backhand and slipping the puck through the five-hole of Dan Sacks. For the second day in a row the Hitmen would take a one goal lead to the locker room after 2 periods of play.
The third period saw a drop in pace early on as both teams tried to clamp down defensively. However, the second half of the period would see 5 goals scored. The first of which came Dynamo forward Niall Cahill, assisted by Jordan Bobrow and Drew Foster. The Hitmen would regain the lead than two minutes later. While on the forecheck Nick Lotito won a puck battle behind the net and sent the puck back to Kei Toeda on the blueline. With no good shooting lanes Toeda then moved the puck back to Michael Conte on the hash marks. With traffic in front Conte fired a shot on the ice the managed to slip through the legs of Sacks to put the Hitmen back on top. Intent on putting the Dynamo away the U-19’s would add an insurance goal less than a minute later. After an easy shot on net Matt Braun would move the puck to Craig Wyszomirski. Wyszomirski would take the puck end to end and netted a backhander through the five-hole of Sacks to put the Hitmen up 2 goals. The Dynamo would not quit and at the 6:14 mark would pull within a goal. Jordan Bobrow would find the back of the net off a Drew Foster feed. With the pressure from the Dynamo mounting, Braun and the Hitmen defense clamped down before David Rose sealed the victory with an empty net goal with 45 seconds to play. Ali Thomas picked up the assist. Braun made 20 saves en route to his 11th win of the season.
Notes: The U-19’s travel to Lake Placid, New York this coming weekend to participate in the prestigious Northwood Prep Tournament…Kenny Pilanski and Nick Lotito pitched in multi-point games over the weekend…The Hitmen received word that Assistant Captain Connor Leen will return to non-contact practice on January 27th. Leen has been out since December 5th with an ankle injury.