LaSalle upsets Shen, 54-48 in quarterfinals
TROY, N.Y. >> La Salle wasn’t allowing too many points to start the third quarter, but wasn’t scoring any. Six minutes in, a 17-point lead had whittled down to 10 points. And that’s when Joe DeLollo finally got LSI back on track against the two-time defending Section II champs.
He hit a 3-pointer from the corner. And it stabilized an effort in a game that the Cadets led from wire to wire, eventually finishing off a 54-48 upset to advance to the Class AA semifinals.
“I’m happy for the kids,” LSI head coach Steve Sgambelluri said. “They have great belief for one another. I thought tonight they showed great love for one another. They’ve been a great group all year. They have great chemistry, great leadership. When you those two things, a lot of good things will happen.”
DeLollo finished with a team-leading 15 points. But it was Kyle Borey who got things started, scoring 10 of the first 14 La Salle points as the Cadets raced out to a 20-8 lead. Jaia Benson led Shen’s scoring with 11 points. The Plainsmen cut the lead all the way down to two points late in the fourth quarter, but La Salle connected on their free throws when they needed to, and proved they belonged in a class full of Suburban Council teams.
After the win, the players stormed out on the court to celebrate in a mob. It was
tunity to regroup. The difference maker for us was we started to spread out the puck. It was a game-charger. Getting that first goal was big as well. (It) got us to settle down, but the first eight or nine minutes was sloppy on our part and we started to manage the game better, started moving the puck and spreading the ice.”
Both teams came out strong in the first period, with Shen being outshot by CBA getting 12-11. The Plainsmen struck first on a goal from Hayden Haldane 11:35 into the period.
In the second period, Shen tacked on three more goals and CBA scored their first. Brennan Alheim and Zach Rupert both snuck shots into the net for Shen and CBA got a goal from Jake Manion.
De la Rocha said he wanted his team to settle down, which they did leading to the two goals.
“When you see Hayden go down and you see Tommy Relyea go down and Matt (Wightman) — there was four guys in our top two lines that went down,” de la Rocha said. “Then you are scrambling on the bench trying to get your lines back in order. Then you throw in a bunch of special teams, it just was difficult to manage the bench during that period. I think they just settled down ... and it helped that we took advantage of the power play. They were moving the puck well and our five on five continued to play well.”
Alheim scored again in the third period and Cole Haldane added another to match his brother in the game with a goal apiece.
Jared Vandeloo made 26 saves on 27 shots for Shen. He allowed his only goal in the second period. La Salle goalie Brandon Mohrhoff made 39 saves on 44 shots in the loss.
De la Rocha said playing the first game at Union was huge for the team.
“We actually just talked about that in the locker room,” De La Rocha said. “A Lot of times when you walk into this environment and you have a young team like we do, a lot of kids that don’t have that big game experience, it sometimes takes a team 20 to 30 minutes La Salle’s Luke Matt, left, moves the puck as Burnt Hills/Ballston Spa’s Gianni Plemenik (11) defends during the Section II Division I ice hockey semifinals Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017 at Union College.
to shake the nerves. This was an opportunity for us to get those kids into this environment, so Tuesday we can buckle down as soon as the puck drops.”
LaSalle holds off Burnt Hills/Ballston Spa, 3-2
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. >> No. 1 seed La Salle scored three goals in the first four minutes of its Section II Division I semifinal. After a goalie change, No. 4 Burnt Hills/Ballston Spa rallied, but it was too little, too late as the Cadets earned a 3-2 victory.
La Salle will take on Shenendehowa in the Section II championship contest,
6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Achilles Rink on the Union College campus.
The Spartans/Scotties were able to keep control of the puck in the first period, getting 12 shots on goal compared to six for the Cadets. But La Salle took advantage of its early chances and was able to the tune of three goals. Christian Rudd scored two goals and Erik Zimmerman managed to add another before Burnt Hlls/ Ballston Spa replaced starting goalie Trevin Tidmarsh with Zack Maddalone, who manned the net for the rest of the game.
Burnt Hills/Ballston Spa scored two goals in the second to get right back into
the game. Gianni Plemenik and Alec Lind both found the back of the net, making it a close contest.
Both teams having opportunities to score, but neither was able to take advantage of power plays, as LaSalle pulled out the victory. similar to Tuesday night, when the Cadets came back down from 15 points to beat Guilderland and advance. Shen had been the No. 2 seed on Saturday night, the regular season co-champs of the Suburban Council. But without star player, Luke Hicks, who quit the team earlier this season, they haven’t played to the same capability. They were lethargic out of the gate, and many of the players left the locker room in tears.
“I think it’s big,” DeLollo said. “We have confidence coming in. A good belief that we’ll get the job done. We got the job done. It’s big for the program. Definitely good to get this win.”
Borey said that Sgambelluri told them before the game that they weren’t facing a dragon. The metaphor
meant that there are no big, bad, unbeatable teams out there. La Salle could beat that team and it was clear they were the better team on that night.
Even with only scoring 19 points in the second half, the defense did just enough to preserve the large lead they built up at halftime. And Sgambelluri said it felt like the second half took a couple of hours. Up next for the Cadets is a trip to the Glens Falls Civic Center to play Bethlehem, the No. 3 seed, who defeated Albany High School 55-49 in the game just prior to La Salle’s win.
“Tonight they were the better team,” Shen head coach Tony Dzikas said. “Absolutely. Tonight, they’re advancing to the semis, and tomorrow we’ll be having exit meetings. That’s the way it works. Saying goodbye to your team is never easy.”