Bethlehem claims Section II title for third time in a row with 3-2 win over Saratoga
SCHENECTADY, NY » For the third time in as many years, the Bethlehem Central High School Hockey team was able to lift the Section II Championship plaque high at Union College Tuesday night.
“Whenwewewere 3-1 with five minutes left, we started thinking of our ending last season,” said Bethlehem Head Coach Dylan Lappe. “With five minutes left we have to keep our head up. It made them realize we have to focus up with a little deja vu from last year. They fought to the end, all the way to the end.”
Bethlehem claimed the Section II title with a 3-2 win over the Saratoga Blue Streaks Tuesday night at Messa Rink at Union College. Leading Bethlehem was Senior Captain and Section II Player of the Year Justin Chenaille, who scored a hat trick in the win.
“He’s been working hard all season. He’s been relentless all season,” said Lappe. “He was Section II Player of the Year and that’s why. He works hard no matter what. Wewere worried a bit in the third, but he kept his head up, kept his team focused, and they came out with the win.”
Chenaille scored his first goal on an awkward play behind the Saratoga net. Chenaille looked to play the puck out front to a Bethlehem forward, but instead, the puck bounced off Saratoga defenseman Michael Montague’s skate and squeaked past Saratoga goalie Brad Blake.
Blake needed to play his best
game if the Blue Streaks wanted to be competitive. He did, which helped his team fight until the bitter end.
“Your goalie has to be your best player in these types of games and he was once again,” said Saratoga Head Coach Tim Horst. “He was once again. He held us in there when we were back on our heels and that’s something we’ve come to expect of him and he delivers. I’m so proud of him and he has come a long way. We are going to miss him.”
Blake finished with 29 saves in the loss.
Bethlehem took a 1-0 lead into the second period and controlled play for most of the period. At 3:11, Chenaille was able to convert a bouncing puck for the second goal of the game.
With a two goal deficit, Saratoga began to play with an intense desperation. They fought for every puck and took every extra step they needed to win the foot races. With a 1:30 left in the second, Jax Todorovic threw a loose puck towards the slot from behind the goal line. Mack Ogden was able to collect the puck and slap it home past Bethlehem goalie Mike Kurdziolek.
After the first Saratoga goal, the Blue Streaks’ finished the second with momentum and carried that momentum into the third.
“I think we had to get our feet under us,” said
Horst. “We were scrambling around a little bit. Not managing the puck very well. Credit to Bethlehem, they are a good team. We had to get pucks in behind their defense and have a good forecheck and once we did that I think we did well.”
Despite the Saratoga momentum building, it was Bethlehem who would score again, again, by Chenaille.
“There’s not much you can. He’s a great player and there is a reason he was the Player of the Year,” said Horst. “He buries chances and that’s what he did tonight.”
With a 3-1 deficit, Horst opted to pull Blake with nearly five minutes remaining on the clock. That’s when the craziness ensued. Saratoga’s press of the offensive zone gave Bethlehem issues with not only getting any sort of shot on the empty net, but getting the puck out of the zone.
“I think we just ran out of time,” said Horst. “I’m so proud of our guys, we never gave up. We pulled the goalie early there and the guys dug in. They left there hearts out there, blood sweat and tears out there. They left it all out there and I am so proud to be there coach.”
For Bethlehem, it was the third sectional title for the senior group, but for Saratoga, it was the first Section II Championship they had even participated in. For seniors like Mack Ogden and Joe Amodio, it was there last chance, bur for Will Detora and the rest of the returning Blue Streaks, the missed opportunity will leave a hunger in them for next season.
“Once you get a taste of this, you just want more,” said Horst. “Getting the younger guys a taste of it is just going to fuel the fire over the spring and summer : Coming up short is tough. It’s a tough life lesson, especially for a group of high school kids, but it can also fuel the fire for guys to want to get back here.”
Bethlehem will represent Section II in the NYSPHSAA Regional on March 7. Bethlehem will play Section I’s Suffern at 4 pm at Union College on Saturday.