2/26/05
Salisbury Tops Canterbury, 4-2
Salisbury, Conn.-- In a battle of two playoff-bound teams, host Salisbury got goals from Alex Biega, Mike Atkinson, Andrew Estey, and Ben Ketchum en route to a 4-2 win over Canterbury this afternoon.
Sophomore Ross MacKinnon kicked out 18 shots in the Salisbury net, while Canterbury senior goaltender Jason Zuck was kept busy at the other end, turning away 44 Salisbury shots.
The game, while fast-paced and hard-hitting, lacked the real high-intensity playoff atmosphere, resembling more of a cat-and-mouse contest between two teams who have worked hard to earn the right to go to the New England prep playoffs.
The game began with Canterbury applying heavy pressure in the first four minutes, but failing to convert.
Salisbury forward Mike Biega was whistled for elbowing during the early Canterbury flurry, giving Canterbury the first power play of the game. But Salisbury, on the penalty kill, almost cashed in when junior forward Sean Sylvester stole the puck in center ice and sped up the left side. Deking to his left, Sylvester found an open Jeremiah Cunningham flying through center ice and dished a perfect tape-to-tape pass, but Zuck, as he has done so often this season, saved the bacon with a beautiful glove save.
The penalty kill seemed to energize Salisbury, and for the next ten minutes the play was almost all theirs. With a little over eight minutes left in the first, Will Ortiz picked up a lose puck at his own blue line and turned up ice with speed. Joining in the rush, which somehow became a 2-on-1 with collisions all over center ice, was Salisbury defenseman Alex Biega. Ortiz deked the Canterbury defenseman to his right, then dished off to Biega, who wasted no time in blasting a shot on Zuck. The Canterbury goalie made the initial save, but Biega never stopped, knocking in his own rebound to give Salisbury a 1-0 lead at 9:31.
Canterbury tied the score at 1-1 on a Kurt Garceau slap shot from the left circle just two minutes later. Forwards Brian Smith and Marc Howe assisted on the goal, which came at 11:03.
Three minutes after the game was tied up, Mike Atkinson gave Salisbury the lead again, knocking in a shot from down low to make it a 2-1 game at 14:17. Assists went to Steve Smolinsky and sophomore defenseman Kevin Quick. The Salisbury line combination of Pollastrone-Atkinson-Smolinsky was impressive all afternoon, creating numerous scoring opportunities.
In the second period, Salisbury was sharp right off the bat, forechecking, hitting hard, and keeping the pressure on the visitors. Their work paid off on a pretty 3-on-2 rush, with quick east-west-east passing, as Estey put Salisbury up 3-1 at 3:39, with assists going to Ortiz and Atkinson. The goal was the only one of the period, one in which Salisbury had a 14-8 edge in shots.
At the start of the third period, Salisbury was short-handed for a full two minutes, thanks to a roughing call at the end of the second period on forward Jeremiah Cunningham. Canterbury’s puck control on the power play was better in the beginning of the third period, but they were unable to get any quality shots on MacKinnon. But just as the Canterbury power play expired, Garceau and defenseman Jason Snyder teamed up low in the Salisbury end and dug the puck out of a crowd behind the net. Garceau found Ian Goodwin pinching in from the left point, and Goodwin let go a slap shot that MacKinnon never had a chance on.
Suddenly, Canterbury was right back in it.
But as good teams will do, the play became very business-like. Canterbury did its best to limit the Salisbury forwards, patiently waiting for turnovers and attempting the occasional stretch pass to the streaking forward. A number of passes didn’t connect, but with three minutes left to play Canterbury’s Snyder hit Goodwin racing up center ice. Goodwin, a junior from Cooper City, Florida, broke in alone on MacKinnon, who stood his ground as Goodwin wristed the puck over the net – no harm.
Salisbury put the game out of reach with just 1:46 left on a Ketchum goal. Assists went to Mike Biega and Brad Baldelli, who did some hard work in front of a feisty and physical Canterbury defense.
“We need to be a bit smarter each shift,” said Canterbury coach Peter LaVigne. “We can’t win being stupid at times.”
Salisbury finishes the regular season with a 22-2-1 record, while Canterbury finishes at 23-6-3.
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
