Relentless pressure paid off for the Saratoga Springs hockey team.
The Blue Streaks made good on six of their 31 shots to defeat Bethlehem 6-4 in Saturday’s Section II Division I semifinal game at Saratoga’s Weibel Avenue Rink.
Bethlehem stayed in the game thanks to its accuracy (four goals on 12 shots) and goaltender Patrick Miron, who made 25 saves.
I think they played an outstanding game, said Saratoga coach Mike Ricupero. `They got pucks on net, and obviously our goaltenders didn’t play their best game.`
`I’m extremely proud of these guys,` said Bethlehem coach Andre Rodrigue. `Any time you have to play the defending Section II champs on the road, that’s a tough road.`
What Bethlehem couldn’t do was clear the puck out of its defensive zone on a consistent basis. Saratoga kept control of the puck for much of the first and third periods, which led to one too many scoring chances for the Eagles to handle.
`It’s frustrating, and it’s draining,` said Rodrigue. `It tires the kids out when they are bottled up in the defensive zone.`
Saratoga’s greatest success in shooting the puck past Miron was on rebounds at close range. Half of the Blue Streaks’ six goals were the result of forwards jamming home loose pucks in front of the net following initial shots.
`They didn’t really beat Pat [Miron] on first shots,` said Rodrigue.
The first such Saratoga goal came 4:07 into the first period when Jimmy Murray stuffed in Alex Luse’s initial shot for a 1-0 Blue Streaks lead.
Bethlehem stayed bottled up in its half of the ice until late in the first period when Saratoga’s Tom Naples was called for a tripping penalty. The ensuing face-off came in Saratoga’s defensive zone, and 10 seconds later Steven Sanchez scored on a rebound to tie the game at 1.
Saratoga regained the lead with less than two minutes left in the first period when Luke Fauler intercepted a Bethlehem clearing attempt near the Eagles’ blue line and ripped a shot past Miron. Then two minutes into the second period, Luse scored off a scrum for a rebound in front of Miron to give the Blue Streaks a 3-1 advantage.
Bethlehem could have let the game get away from it at that point, but John Gosstola wouldn’t let that happen. The junior forward scored 19 seconds after Luse’s goal to pull the Eagles back within a goal and caused Ricupero to switch from Tyler Ellor (one save on three shots) to Ryan Bourgeois in net.
`It obviously didn’t work out with Tyler in goal, but that’s why it’s good that I have two goaltenders I can rely on,` said Ricupero.
That did not seem to be the case right away. Gosstola freed himself up for a breakaway and scored on Bourgeois to tie the game at 3. However, Bourgeois settled down the rest of the second period, as he stopped the next four Bethlehem shots.
As Bourgeois settled down, so did Saratoga. Luse gave the Blue Streaks the lead back with a goal at the 9:07 mark of the second period. Then, Dan Going and Devin Smith tallied in the third period to make the score 6-3.
Bethlehem made one last push, thanks to a pair of late Saratoga penalties that left the Blue Streaks down two men. Sam Vincent scored on the 5-on-3 power play to get the Eagles within two goals, but a Bethlehem penalty after the goal negated what would have been a 5-on-4 advantage.
`That was the deciding moment of the game,` said Rodrigue. `We still had another power play, and I intended to pull my goalie to make it a 6-on-4 advantage. And we had a penalty called on us that negated everything I intended to do at that point.`
The Eagles still got a pair of quality shots on goal while both sides were skating with four players, but Bourgeois made the necessary saves to preserve Saratoga’s 6-4 lead.
The Blue Streaks advance to Thursday’s Section II final against Shenendehowa. Saratoga has defeated Shen twice during the regular season.
`If we stick to our game plan from the last two [Shen] games I think we have a good chance,` said Ricupero.
Shen advanced to its first Sectional final in four years by beating Christian Brothers Academy 5-1 last Friday at Clifton Park Arena.
`It has been a couple of years for us,` said Shen coach Juan de la Rocha. `The kids are happy to have another chance at [the title].`
Special teams propelled Shen past CBA. The Plainsmen scored on three of their four power plays, and they killed off all four of their penalties.
`The power play has definitely improved, but … our penalty kill was the difference in that game,` said de la Rocha.
Michael McCarthy and Tyler Ballantyne each scored first period power play goals to spot Shen a 2-0 lead. CBA got on the scoreboard midway through the first period to make it a 2-1 game before Shen pulled away with three more goals.
Joe Ferraro tallied in the second period, while T.J. Goodwin and Brad Tardiff added third period goals for the Plainsmen. Goaltender Brett Bernardo stopped 25 shots.
To beat Saatoga Thursday, de la Rocha said that Bernardo will have to be on top of his game.
`It will come down to goaltending to determine who wins this one,` said de la Rocha.
Thursday’s Saratoga-Shen game starts at 7 p.m. at Union College.“