2017 SLC/PELHAM 1-7 NYSPHSAA Division II tournament championship game
After opening the season with a tie and a loss, the St. Lawrence Central hockey team played its way to the NYSPHSAA Division II tournament championship game this past weekend at the HarborCenterArena in Buffalo. Making their first appearance in a state final since winning their only title in 1982, the Larries skated away with the runner-up plaque after dropping a 7-1 decision to top-ranked Section 1 champion Pelham Memorial in the title game on Sunday. Guided by the veteran duo of Mickey Locke and assistant Randy Roy, the SLC lineup consisted of Rico DiMatteo, Payton Felix, Brendan Phippen, Keith Felix, Ian Bressett, Colby Jenkinson, Zach St. Hilaire, Luke Collins, John Sullivan, Andrew Lantry, Trent Dow, Ryan Newtown, Jack Pullano, Sam Lyon, Drew Rose, Eli Kocsis, Isaac Scott, Owen Kowalchuk, Jah Robertson, Carter Rose, Noah Adams, Jarrett St. Hilaire and Bransen Kinnear.
BUFFALO - The St. Lawrence Central hockey team managed to end one long drought but not the other in falling short to Section 1 champion Pelham Memorial in the championship game of the 2017 NYSPHSAA Division I playoffs on Sunday at the HarborCenter Arena.
After earning their first bid to the state final since winning their only title in 1982 with a special teams fueled 6-0 victory over Section 7 Beekmantown on Saturday, the Larries wound up returning from Buffalo with their first-ever runner-up plaque after the Panthers broke open a close game with four unanswered third-period goals in posting a decisive 7-1 win.
“Their team speed was something we hadn’t seen this year. They were just so fast that it put so much pressure on every aspect of the game and that gave us problems,” coach Mickey Locke said after Sunday’s loss.
“There’s no question they are a quality team and we knew coming in that it was going to be a real challenge but it’s a disappointing game for us in that we didn’t play at our best,” he added. “This was a hard finish.”
In overwhelming the Larries, Pelham broke through for its first state title and completed an impressive season-long reversal from a debut loss with its 25th straight win.
“We lost in the semifinals here last year and we had a lot of guys coming back. We’re motivated to win every year but that loss gave us even more,” coach Ed Witz said.
“We were close to our first championship last year. Now we’ve got one,” he added.
The Pelicans were led from start to finish by the frontline trio of Stefan Miklakos, Ben Hurd and Natty Heintz, which accounted for all but one of the seven goal. Heintz opened the scoring assisted by his linemates 8:58 into the game as Pelham got the jump on the Larries from the opening whistle and eventually built a 12-1 advantage in shots on goal.
But with time winding down in the first period, SLC junior Ian Bressett stepped into a clearing attempt along the right boards near the Pelicans blue line then raced in to score a breakaway goal with 2:16 remaining to send the teams into the first intermission knotted at 1-1.
“We knew St. Lawrence was well-coached, that they were a very gritty team and that they had a good goalie. After the first period, we just told the kids to stay the course and that we’d eventually get to them,” Witz said.
The Pelicans eventually got to the Larries late in the second period when Miklakos created a turnover along the left boards at the SLC blue line, leading to a two-on-one break with Hurd. He eventually centered the puck to Hurd, who went in alone against sophomore netminder Rico DiMatteo and was initially denied by a sliding pad save. The rebound slid behind the goal and was controlled by Hurd who quickly slid it back to the crease where it was tucked home by Miklakos for a pivotal short-handed goal with 2:27 left in the middle frame.
“We talked about the importance of special teams at this point. Yesterday, we had four power play goals against Beekmantown and that was the story of the game. We weren’t getting many opportunities and giving up the shortie set the tempo for the rest of today’s game,” Locke said.
Miklakos opened the third period with his second of the game at the 2:40 mark before Gibson Smith pushed the lead to 4-1 just 56 seconds later by firing a shot from the left point through a scramble and into the back of the net for a power play goal.
The Pelicans went on to score three more goals over the final seven minutes of regulation as Miklakos tallied a total of three goals and two assists in being named Tournament MVP.
Hurd finished with a goal and four assists while Drew Montanarella accounted for the other goal and Justin Ming posted six saves backstopping the championship win.
DiMatteo, who turned aside 22 of the 24 shots through the first two frames in keeping the Larries within striking distance going into the third, finished with 36 stops.
The Larries closed the season at 22-3-1 after suffering only their second loss in 22 games.
Miklakos was joined by Hurd, Heintz and Smith on the All-Tournament Team that was rounded out by DiMatteo and junior blue liner Drew Rose. Both DiMatteo and Rose were also named to the All-NAC NYSPHAA Division II First Team.
Aided by longtime assistant Randy Roy, Locke coached the Larries to their third Section 10 title in five years this winter. They also pulled away from the rest of the field to reclaim the NAC Division II regular season banner with a 12-1 record.
Captains Luke Collins and Jack Pullano provided leadership as the only seniors on the roster this winter. The majority of the lineup consisted of a battle-test junior nucleus that includes also goaltender Bransen Kinnear, defensemen Drew Rose, Keith Felix, Eli Kocsis and Zach St. Hilaire along with forwards Colby Jenkinson, Andrew Lantry, Trent Dow, Ryan Newtown, Owen Kowalchuk, Sam Lyon and Isaac Scott.
Also making lead contributions as a sophomore was Peyton Felix while classmates John Sullivan and Jah Robertson served as role players. Freshman defenseman Carter Rose enjoyed a strong rookie season while classmates Brendan Phippen, Noah Adams and Jarrett St. Hilaire provided quality minutes playing support roles.
“We had great team chemisty this year,” said Locke. “Our seniors were outstanding leaders this year and we have a large group of juniors that have played together all the way up through their hockey careers.”
“Having the season end the way it did is tough but as whole, we had a fantastic year,” he added.
Read MoreBUFFALO - The St. Lawrence Central hockey team managed to end one long drought but not the other in falling short to Section 1 champion Pelham Memorial in the championship game of the 2017 NYSPHSAA Division I playoffs on Sunday at the HarborCenter Arena.
After earning their first bid to the state final since winning their only title in 1982 with a special teams fueled 6-0 victory over Section 7 Beekmantown on Saturday, the Larries wound up returning from Buffalo with their first-ever runner-up plaque after the Panthers broke open a close game with four unanswered third-period goals in posting a decisive 7-1 win.
“Their team speed was something we hadn’t seen this year. They were just so fast that it put so much pressure on every aspect of the game and that gave us problems,” coach Mickey Locke said after Sunday’s loss.
“There’s no question they are a quality team and we knew coming in that it was going to be a real challenge but it’s a disappointing game for us in that we didn’t play at our best,” he added. “This was a hard finish.”
In overwhelming the Larries, Pelham broke through for its first state title and completed an impressive season-long reversal from a debut loss with its 25th straight win.
“We lost in the semifinals here last year and we had a lot of guys coming back. We’re motivated to win every year but that loss gave us even more,” coach Ed Witz said.
“We were close to our first championship last year. Now we’ve got one,” he added.
The Pelicans were led from start to finish by the frontline trio of Stefan Miklakos, Ben Hurd and Natty Heintz, which accounted for all but one of the seven goal. Heintz opened the scoring assisted by his linemates 8:58 into the game as Pelham got the jump on the Larries from the opening whistle and eventually built a 12-1 advantage in shots on goal.
But with time winding down in the first period, SLC junior Ian Bressett stepped into a clearing attempt along the right boards near the Pelicans blue line then raced in to score a breakaway goal with 2:16 remaining to send the teams into the first intermission knotted at 1-1.
“We knew St. Lawrence was well-coached, that they were a very gritty team and that they had a good goalie. After the first period, we just told the kids to stay the course and that we’d eventually get to them,” Witz said.
The Pelicans eventually got to the Larries late in the second period when Miklakos created a turnover along the left boards at the SLC blue line, leading to a two-on-one break with Hurd. He eventually centered the puck to Hurd, who went in alone against sophomore netminder Rico DiMatteo and was initially denied by a sliding pad save. The rebound slid behind the goal and was controlled by Hurd who quickly slid it back to the crease where it was tucked home by Miklakos for a pivotal short-handed goal with 2:27 left in the middle frame.
“We talked about the importance of special teams at this point. Yesterday, we had four power play goals against Beekmantown and that was the story of the game. We weren’t getting many opportunities and giving up the shortie set the tempo for the rest of today’s game,” Locke said.
Miklakos opened the third period with his second of the game at the 2:40 mark before Gibson Smith pushed the lead to 4-1 just 56 seconds later by firing a shot from the left point through a scramble and into the back of the net for a power play goal.
The Pelicans went on to score three more goals over the final seven minutes of regulation as Miklakos tallied a total of three goals and two assists in being named Tournament MVP.
Hurd finished with a goal and four assists while Drew Montanarella accounted for the other goal and Justin Ming posted six saves backstopping the championship win.
DiMatteo, who turned aside 22 of the 24 shots through the first two frames in keeping the Larries within striking distance going into the third, finished with 36 stops.
The Larries closed the season at 22-3-1 after suffering only their second loss in 22 games.
Miklakos was joined by Hurd, Heintz and Smith on the All-Tournament Team that was rounded out by DiMatteo and junior blue liner Drew Rose. Both DiMatteo and Rose were also named to the All-NAC NYSPHAA Division II First Team.
Aided by longtime assistant Randy Roy, Locke coached the Larries to their third Section 10 title in five years this winter. They also pulled away from the rest of the field to reclaim the NAC Division II regular season banner with a 12-1 record.
Captains Luke Collins and Jack Pullano provided leadership as the only seniors on the roster this winter. The majority of the lineup consisted of a battle-test junior nucleus that includes also goaltender Bransen Kinnear, defensemen Drew Rose, Keith Felix, Eli Kocsis and Zach St. Hilaire along with forwards Colby Jenkinson, Andrew Lantry, Trent Dow, Ryan Newtown, Owen Kowalchuk, Sam Lyon and Isaac Scott.
Also making lead contributions as a sophomore was Peyton Felix while classmates John Sullivan and Jah Robertson served as role players. Freshman defenseman Carter Rose enjoyed a strong rookie season while classmates Brendan Phippen, Noah Adams and Jarrett St. Hilaire provided quality minutes playing support roles.
“We had great team chemisty this year,” said Locke. “Our seniors were outstanding leaders this year and we have a large group of juniors that have played together all the way up through their hockey careers.”
“Having the season end the way it did is tough but as whole, we had a fantastic year,” he added.
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