2/19/05
Avon Wins Battle of #1 vs. #2
Avon, Conn. – In a rink too jam-packed to even move in, #2-ranked Avon Old Farms topped #1-ranked Salisbury here this afternoon by a 6-2 score.
The game, the most highly-anticipated of the regular season, never really caught fire, mainly because a large number of penalties – 23 in total -- diminished the flow and turned the game into a special teams battle, albeit a strange one, as Avon scored one power play goal and two shorthanded goals, while both of Salisbury’s goals came on the power play.
While a number of penalties on both sides probably shouldn’t have been called, that wasn’t the story of the game. As Salisbury coach Dan Donato said afterward, “Avon worked harder than we did.”
In the early going, it looked good for Salisbury as they buzzed around the Avon end and took a 1-0 lead when, with Avon’s Eric Quinlan in the box for tripping, Salisbury center Mike Atkinson, over on the right side by the half boards, chipped a shot toward the net which somehow eluded Avon goaltender Jon Quick on the short side. The goal, which came at 6:57, was unassisted.
In the second half of the period, Avon began to settle down and get the puck to the front of the net more. With 2:52 left in the period, and the teams at even strength, Avon senior LW Sean Backman took a pass from defenseman Brian Warner, came flying over the blue line and unleashed a high slapshot which cleanly beat Salisbury sophomore goaltender Ross MacKinnon to tie the game at 1-1.
In the second period, Avon came out with high purpose, moving the puck well and taking control of the game by reeling off three straight goals in a span of 4:17.
On the first, a powerplay goal with Salisbury’s Atkinson off for elbowing, Avon wing Chris Davis worked the puck off the left wing wall and took it to the net, leaving it for Matt Smalley, stationed at the back door, to knock home and put Avon up 2-1, a lead they would not relinquish.
Several minutes later, at 7:48, Smalley struck again, this time scoring on a redirect. John Mori picked up the assist on the goal, which was even strength.
Then, a mere 15 seconds afterward, Backman put an exclamation point on Avon’s splurge when, with his team short a man, he gathered up a loose puck in the neutral zone and flew into the offensive zone, firing home his second goal of the game, and putting the Winged Beavers up 4-1.
Salisbury cut that lead to 4-2 when, with Avon’s Warner off for roughing and the Winged Beavers having difficulty clearing the puck, RW Jerry Pollastrone wound up with the puck in the slot near the hash marks and snapped a shot past Quick to give Salisbury their second – and last -- goal of the game at the 11:13 mark. Will Ortiz and Brad Baldelli picked up assists.
That was it for the second. Salisbury, down by a pair, came out firing in the third, outshooting the frequently shorthanded Winged Beavers by a 20-3 margin, but coming up empty.
The backbreaker came when Salisbury, on the powerplay, gave Avon their second shorthanded goal. It was a flukey one, as Salisbury’s MacKinnon skated out of his crease to play a dump in, but dropped his stick. Avon’s Rob Tesar picked up the loose puck and curled around the net. While MacKinnon scrambled to get back into position, Tesar coolly fired the puck home at the 4:19 mark.
At 8:55 of the period, Winged Beavers defenseman Jeoff Jarnot put the game out of reach, beating MacKinnon with a high wrist shot from the left point to make it 6-2, the final margin of victory.
MacKinnon was pulled at that point and replaced with Jeff Mack, who didn’t face a shot the rest of the way. Salisbury had two 5-on-3s late in the period, but couldn’t get the puck past Quick.
Afterward, Avon coach John Gardner said, “Quick played well, and our D stepped up – (Joe) DeBello and Jarnot are both coming off the flu. It was a hot rink, and an emotional game. Backman got us going today, but it was a team effort. I told them I thought they played hard, and with a lot of heart and desire.”
“This was a chance to play an excellent team – Dan Donato has a tough, talented hockey team. It was a chance to see where we stand.”
Afterward, standing outside the Salisbury dressing room, Donato looked back on the game and said, “Avon worked harder than we did. That was the most disappointing part for me. At the beginning of the season I told the team, ‘We never want to allow ourselves to be outworked.’ Well, today we were outworked, and I give Avon a lot of credit for that.”
Donato said he also felt that the game turned into game of special teams and his players got undisciplined. “It really turned around in the first because we started taking penalties. Avon has a very good power play -- and good penalty killing.”
However, said Donato, the game “does not put a damper on the season. We just have to go back at it at Hotchkiss on Wednesday.”
“We’re going to get a ton out of this game,” he added. “We were taught how hard we have to work.”
2/27/05
Playoff Matchups Announced
Div. I:
#8 Tabor vs #1 Nobles, 3:00 @ Nobles
#7 Cushing vs #2 Berkshire, 4:00 @ Berkshire
#6 Choate vs #3 Loomis, 4:00 @ Loomis
#5 Pomfret vs #4 Lawrence, 4:00 @ Lawrence
Div. II :
#8 Brewster vs #1 GDA
#7 Kingswood vs #2 Gunnery
#6 Middlesex vs #3 Kents Hill
#5 Greenwich vs #4 Brooks
We’ll add in the locations and times of the Div. II games as we learn of them.
Semi-Finals: Saturday, March 5, 2005
Dexter and Southfield Schools, Brookline, MA
Div. II:
1/8 winner vs. 4/5 winner, 10:00 am
3/6 winner vs. 2/7 winner, 12:00 pm
Div. I:
1/8 winner vs. 4/5 winner, 2:00 pm
3/6 winner vs. 2/7 winner, 4:00 pm
Finals: Sunday, March 6, 2005
Div. II Championship Game, 10:30 am
Div. I Championship Game, 12:30 pm
