CADETS SPECIAL TEAMS SEIZE THE DAY
LaSalle scores power play and short-handed goal in win
TROY, N.Y. » It was as rare as a total solar eclipse Friday night at Hudson Valley Community College, two-man rush in overtime, clear ice by two skaters from center ice in heading towards the goalie with only two other teammates in their rear view mirror along with their opponents… all on a penalty kill.
It was unique, euphoric and celebrated in grand style by the LaSalle Institute Cadets when Tom Ryan sent the puck to the opposite side of Saratoga Springs goalie Brad Hipsley, committed to his right as Ryan Murray held the puck late on the two-man rush for the 2-1 win in overtime.
“It was a slow play when you’re coming up and you’ve got 2-on-0 from the red line in,” senior forward said. “Me and my teammate Ryan Murray were coming down and we knew what we were going to do. “We knew we were just going to come over and just pass it back door and I was the guy back door, wide open net, just buried it. A great pass.”
The Cadets (3-1-1 Capital Dis-
trict, 5-3-1 overall) put themselves in a precarious position with an elbowing penalty called as time expired in regulation, giving the Blue Streaks (1-1-1 league, 2-4-1 overall) a 90 second man advantage to start the five minute overtime period.
“At that point you forget that you’re in overtime and you just have to kill a penalty off,” LaSalle Coach Tim Flanigan said. “When you have good teams you have a way of scoring short-handed. That’s something I’ve seen happen quite a bit over the years. We’ve got a great group of penalty killers and it turned that game for us.”
After winning the extra session face-off Saratoga had the puck in its own end, looking to get one more puck past Cadet goalie Casey Boone for its first win of the new year, but turned the puck over along the team’s sideboards to start the rush the opposite way.
“Who gives up a 2-on-0 on a penalty kill?” Saratoga Springs Coach Dave Torres said. “Not in my career. It’s just a lack of communication and a lack of focus possibly. Hopefully the boys will learn from that moving forward and we’ll get better tomorrow.”
The Blue Streaks outshot the Cadets 30-20 on the night, but only saw Matt Shamberger score five minutes into the third period to tie up the contest from an assist by Ryan Jones.
LaSalle went ahead in the second period after Saratoga was called for a hooking penalty with 2:25 left in the second period. Ryan Murray put the Cadets ahead 33 seconds later on a give-andgo from Taylor Nitz and Jack O’Bryan.
Friday’s pair of goals by LaSalle’s special teams didn’t surprise Ryan.
“We work on it so much that we’re bound to be good at it,” Ryan said. “We always talk about we’re going to be the best back checking team in the section, the best penalty killing team in the section, best power play team in the section, it’s just meant to be.”
Two special team goals didn’t surprise Flanigan.
“Our penalty kill has been clicking, we always work on the power play, we work on it regularly and we’ve been scoring goals,” Flanigan said. “The kids have their heads up, they’re looking to pass and we don’t shoot it until we got a good scoring chance.
“On the penalty kill it’s just good, smart penalty killing and you have to pick your moments where you can be aggressive and look for a turnover, but you have to look for the loose pucks and create some of them. You can’t be too aggressive on the penalty kill.”
On the opposite bench there is some frustration as once again the Blue Streaks outshot an opponent and come up short.
“We’re a little snake bit, just have to keep working hard,” Torres said. “The kids are keeping their heads up.
“The puck will start falling. It’s not like we can’t score, we’re trying, but we’re hitting the post, we’re hitting the goalie in the pads, hitting the goalie in the glove and the puck is just hanging around and we’re not able to bang it home. Those pucks will eventually go and we’ll break that barrier, it’ll start.”
While Saratoga is trying to find its way back to the top of the league standings, LaSalle has the challenge of carrying the defending champion banner after a talented group of players graduated last year.
“We had a great year last year and we we’ve got a core nucleus of guys that are returning from last year’s team,” Flanigan said. “We got a lot of experience from last year and I expect them to carry that over, but the league is very tight this year. Saratoga is always strong, Bethlehem is strong, Shenendehowa is always strong, and I think the league is going to be the tightest it’s ever been this year.”