December
20, 2003
March 21,
HACKENSACK - After scoring on its first three shots in the opening minutes of the game, it seemed as though the Bergen Catholic ice hockey team was in for an easy evening on Friday. Big leads can sometimes cause big trouble, however, and the Crusaders found themselves on the precipice by game's end.
The Crusaders kept their composure in the final minutes despite having squandered the vast majority of a 4-0 lead, moving to 4-0 on the year and retaining their hold on first place in the Gordon Conference with a 5-4 win over St. John Vianney.
The Lancers, who had beaten Seton Hall Prep in their previous game by a 2-0 score, dropped their first game of the year after being blitzed in the first three minutes by three Crusader goals.
It took all of 16 seconds for BC, the defending state champion, to put the first goal on the board. Brian Scholtz sent a pass in from the right side, which John Garlasco chased behind the net. He came out on the left side of the goal and shot one across the goalmouth. It hit goalie Frank DiRoma and caromed in.
Scholtz got the second goal at the 2:24 mark, banging one in off a feed from Mark Znutas in close. Just 56 seconds later, it was 3-0, as Tom Keough sent John Goffredo in on the right side. He slapped one from the lower circle that beat DiRoma and sent him to the bench in favor of Matthew Deering.
The game settled down from there until the 10:50 point, where Eric Williams tipped in an Ian O'Connell pass that made it 4-0, which is how the first period ended.
"We played hard early, and we kept it up early, but after the fourth goal, you could us tail off a bit," Carlough remarked. "We didn't go completely in the can, but it is still early enough in the season to be able to have that loss of focus. We got away from doing what had gotten us where we were. "
Vianney (2-1) cut the lead in half in the second period. The first goal came on a counterattack, as Bergen Catholic got caught up ice. Joe Logel came across on a 2 on 2 and beat Crusader goalie Ryan Carroll 4:53 into the middle stanza.
With 2:20 remaining in the second, Shaun McTigue stole a pass just over the blue line and shot it toward the net. Kevin Wong controlled it and pushed the puck past Carroll. When Bergen took a penalty 30 seconds later, it appeared that the momentum had shifted, but Doug Lunau came in on a shorthanded breakaway down the right side and went top shelf, beating Deering in the upper right hand corner of the net with 1:08 left in the second period.
That was one of three shorthanded breakaways the Crusaders had, as the penalty killing unit was superb all game. Deering stoned Goffredo on a center breakaway in the first period and Scholtz clanged one off the crossbar on another breakaway in the final seconds of the second period. SJV went 0 for 4 on the power play, managing only 4 shots on goal in the eight man-advantage minutes.
"We used four forwards all night long on the penalty kill, and they did a great job," said Carlough. "We usually go five or six guys, but we didn't need to go that deep. That was probably the highlight of our night."
The Lancers closed to within 5-3 at the 3:15 mark of the third period, as Brian Duggan took a cross ice pass at the left circle and one-timed it past Carroll, with Andrew Mazza and Andrew Cicero getting the assists.
Logel scored his second of the game with 1:55 left in the game. Joe Raimondi got him the puck on the left side, and Logel's sharp angle shot found the lower corner. It would be the last opportunity for Vianney, as the Crusaders did not allow a shot after that score.
"We didn't fold," Carlough said, "and I didn't sense any panic on the bench from anybody. You have to be comfortable in a one-goal game, and if you're not comfortable, then that's a problem. There was a resolve to hold the lead."
Carroll finished with 21 saves and Deering came away with 16 as SJV outshot BC 25-21. The Crusaders did not have a power play chance in the game.
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