Shaker/Colonie’s offensive struggles continued, and so did its losing streak.
Matthew Bub scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period to help Bethlehem defeat the Jets 2-1 in Saturday’s Capital District High School Hockey League game at the Bethlehem Area YMCA.
This was a good league win for us, said Bethlehem coach Dick Hughes. `That team over there (Shaker/Colonie) is a good program. My hat’s off to that team, too.`
The Jets (4-8-2 league, 5-12-3 overall) haven’t won a game since a 5-0 victory over South Glens Falls Dec. 28. They’ve scored 10 goals in the eight games since that win.
`We have to figure out some way to get out of the slump that we’re in, and part of that is just getting a win,` said Shaker/Colonie coach Steve Hudak. `A win helps a lot, and we haven’t gotten many lately.`
Bethlehem (8-4-0, 12-7-1) got on the scoreboard at 9:54 of the first period. Defenseman Paul Hospodar tapped in a rebound off a scrum in front of the net to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Shaker/Colonie had its chances to tie the game in the first period, including a power play when Bethlehem was called for too many men on the ice. Bethlehem goaltender T.J. Caswell responded to the challenge, stopping all eight shots he faced.
The Jets finally solved Caswell 27 seconds into the second period. Senior defenseman D.J. O’Connell raced down the ice and got behind the Bethlehem defense. He then faked a shot and passed the puck to Seth Clickner, who shot it past Caswell to tie the game at 1.
Sophomore defenseman Nick Krytazis had an opportunity to give Shaker/Colonie the lead on a power play a short time later, but his wrister banged off the goalpost. The Jets had three shots with the man advantage, but couldn’t get anything into the goal.
`We’re just not connecting,` said Hudak. `I don’t know if we have to move the lines around to change it up a little bit – we’ve done all that. We’re going to figure something out.`
A penalty against Shaker/Colonie’s Chris Cusack at the end of the second period gave Bethlehem the break it was looking for. One minute into the third period, Mike Barba sent a pass from behind the net to Bub, who buried a shot between Jets goaltender Jim Lanne’s legs to put the Eagles ahead.
Caswell made the one-goal lead stand up. The senior turned aside several Shaker/Colonie scoring chances in the third period to seal the victory.
`T.J.’s been outstanding in the last couple of games,` Hughes said of Caswell, who finished with 20 saves. `He’s been very steady and works very hard. He’s a solid team player, and he’s given us chances to win.`
It was only the second league victory for Bethlehem since New Year’s Day, but Hughes said he sees some promising signs.
`We had a great start to the season, and we seem to be picking things up again,` he said. `We played some Division I teams and have been very competitive lately.`
Bethlehem entered the game off a 6-0 non-league victory over Plattsburgh Friday at the Beth-lehem Area YMCA. The Eagles scored twice in the first period and added three goals in the third period to seal the win.
Stephen Russo had a goal and two assists to lead Bethlehem’s offense. Eric Halek, Kyle Barach and Emmet Dalton each added a goal and an assist.“