Carroll, Radnor show how playoffs could be tight
The last minute of Friday night’s non-conference game between Radnor and Archbishop Carroll provided a glimpse at the drama to come in Delaware County high school hockey. With the score knotted at two, the Raiders attempted to clear their own zone twice as the Patriots applied pressure. Twice the puck failed to make it past the blue line. Inside 10 seconds, Carroll threw one more shot at the net in hopes of finding a winner. Radnor goaltender Harris Brotman made the save but couldn’t smother the rebound. Instead, Matt Strofe jammed it home with two seconds to play. The 3-2 victory was just the boost the Patriots needed as they approach the Philadelphia Catholic League playoffs.
“It’s huge. It’s a huge motivation,” Strofe said following his late marker. “I mean it really brings together the team. It shows how good we are, and that we can actually win this thing.”
The win pushed Carroll’s record to just 6-7-3, but there’s evidence to support Strofe’s optimism. The Patriots, third place in the PCL, have been close all season. They gave top-seeded Cardinal O’Hara, which went undefeated in league play at 10-0, all it could handle in both of their regular season contests. Each game came down to the wire with the Lions taking 3-2 and 4-3 decisions.
“I think we’re right there with (O’Hara),” Strofe said. “You saw one-goal games, they scored late in both games. I think we can win this league. We definitely have the potential. With all of our guys coming back from injury, we definitely can win.”
If Carroll plays like it did Friday, the Patriots, who open with No. 6 Bishop Shanahan Monday, could certainly run the table. It starts in goal. Junior netminder Jacob George was brilliant against the Raiders. He made 40 saves, 21 in the third period alone. George kept Carroll in the game as it was outshot 37-16 in the last two frames.
“He’s been playing like that every single game for us,” Strofe said. “We’re nothing without him. He’s the backbone of our team.”
If George is the backbone, Strofe, the captain, holds everything else together. The senior has been irreplaceable all season for a club that regularly dresses three freshmen and five sophomores, although he’s quick to praise the youth.
“They’ve been the most key to this team, all the young guys,” Strofe said. “How they look up to me, I love it. I always wanted to lead. It’s really nice this year.”
He demonstrated that leadership in a 20-second sequence Friday. After a bad icing gave the Patriots a defensive zone faceoff, Strofe righted the mistake and then some. He won the draw, collected a pass to split the defense and fired a shot off the post and in to put Carroll up 2-0. It’s the kind of solo effort the Patriots have come to expect from him: He leads the team with 42 points; Jason Zambella is second with 18. Strofe won’t sneak up on anybody, but Carroll might in a tighter-than-you-think PCL.
The same could be said of Radnor in the wide open Central. “I feel like since I’ve been Haverford, this is the best at parity year,” Fords coach John Povey said. “Just look at how many ties there have been.”
Springfield alone had five. Haverford, which suffered its first league loss of the season last week to Lower Merion, had three. In other words, plan for some extra hockey and maybe a few surprising results.
“It wouldn’t be shocking if there multiple upsets in the first round,” Povey said. “I mean you look at our record and it’s the difference of a couple of bounces. It’s really, really tight, and that’s what makes it fun.”
The Raiders, who finished fourth in the Central League North, open the playoffs Monday against South champion Ridley. The Green Raiders got the better of Radnor, 9-4, in their lone regular season meeting. But that came back in December. This is a different Raiders team, and one coming off a solid performance, if not a win.
“It was definitely a good stride into playoffs,” said Proctor, who went coast-to-coast to score Radnor’s second goal and his 24th of the season in the third period against Carroll. “I think dominating those last two periods is really going to help us move into Monday here.”
“We’ve been playing pretty well recently, and I think that’s going to be a big help,” D.J. Sucher said. “We started off the season with good games and bad games. Recently, we’ve really been turning it up. I think it’ll be a good game.”
If the Raiders should contend, Sucher and Proctor will be at the heart of it. They’ve combined to score 47 of Radnor’s 81 goals this season. They relish the role.
“Me and Clayton seem to do pretty well under the pressure to take over the game,” Sucher said. “We kind of love to rev the team and start up each game with a bang.”
The Raiders hope that translates into a berth in Wednesday’s semifinals in a season where everyone is beatable.
“I think Ridley will be a real tough task,” Radnor coach Brett Skalski said. “I think they can be beaten if we put them under pressure, and make them uncomfortable, we can give ourselves a chance to win.”