Stoners, Larries Open State Tourneys Saturday
The Potsdam Central and St. Lawrence Central hockey teams will look to keep peaking on Saturday as they begin the chase for their respective New York State tournament championships.
Potsdam, which captured the Section 10 Division I title via an exhaustive 2-1 triple-overtime win over defending champion Massena, is riding the momentum of a seven-game win streak as the Sandstoners head to Camillus to take on undefeated Section 3 champion West Genesee in a game at Shove Park that is slated to face-off at 5:30 p.m. In the other Division I quarter-final games on Saturday, Suffern (1) welcomes Williamsville-North (6), Monroe-Woodbury (9) hosts Pittsford (5) and Ithaca (4) entertains Saratoga (2).
SLC, meanwhile, has reeled off six wins in its last seven games including come-from-behind wins over Salmon River in the sectional semi-finals and top-seeded OFA in the Division II title game as the Larries travel south to Orange County to face Section 9 champion Burke Catholic at the Ice Time rink in Newburgh starting at 1 p.m. The other Division II first round matchups slated for Saturday have Rye (1) hosting Queensbury (2), Plattsburgh (7) taking on Amherst (6) and Webster-Thomas (5) playing at defending champion New Hartford (3).
PCS FACE WILDCATS
Coached by Al Benda along with assistant Reggie McDonald, the Sandstoners struggled to a 7-7-1 record through their first 15 games but enter the state tournament at 14-7-1 thanks to a late-season turnaround that started with a 5-2 NAC win on the road over SLC in late January. Saturday's Division I quarter-final round game in Camillus is a rematch of game played on December 19 that saw host West Genesee pull away to a 5-1 win.
Senior Mike Ellis has emerged as the team's leading scorer this winter with 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points. Junior Seth Adams is one of four Sandstoners with eight goals while leading the team in assists with 14. Also making key contributions at forward are seniors Taylor Hazen (7-11-18), Greg Burkum (8-6-14) and Tyler Adams (8-6-14).
Along with playing lead roles on defense, the junior duo of brothers Ryan (8-4-12) and Matt Merriman (3-7-10) has also provided an offensive boost this winter. Other solid all-around contributors include reshman blueliner Dakota Ford (4-4-8) and senior forward Shane McHenry (2-5-7).
Backstopping the Potsdam hopes this winter is senior netminder Evan Drummatter, who has stopped 406 of the shots he's faced for a .925 save percentage.
West Genesee advanced to the state Division I tournament via a 4-0 win over Baldwinsville in the Section 3 final last Satursday at Allyn Ice Arena in Skaneateles. The Wildcats have reeled off 22 straight wins this season, having outscored their opponents by a margin of 120-15. Goaltender Anthony Militello has been between the pipes for all 14 of the shutouts notched by the Wildcats, who have only given up two goals in their last 11 games. Zach Lewis, who scored three goals in the win over Potsdam, is the team's leading offensive threat followed by Nick Holzhauer. In the win over Baldwinsville, the Wildcats scored three of their goals while on the power play.
LARRIES FACE EAGLES
Coached by 27-year veteran Mickey Locke and long-time assistant Randy Roy, the Larries raised their overall record to 16-7 with their win over OFA as they get set to make their first state tournament appearance of the millennium.
Senior Brady Helmer, who has generated 18 goals and 18 assists for 36 points, leads a balanced SLC offense that features seven players with at least 19 points and eight players with at least nine goals. Other leading offensive forwards include junior Zach Baldwin (15-12-17) and senior Charlie Dullea (14-11-25) while blueliners Dylan Patterson (8-17-25), a junior, and Jack Keenan (8-13-21), a senior, have also made a big impact. The Larries have also gotten key scoring contributions from sophomore Brett Mahoney (9-11-20), junior Andrew Fiske (9-10-19), freshman Blake Baldwin 9-3-12) and senior Mark Peets (3-6-9). Senior Jobie McCarthy and sophomore Hayden Beaulieu bolster the SLC defensive corps while junior goaltender Jordan Gary has capably stepped up to give the Larries a reliable backstop, recording 454 saves for a .900 save percentage while surrendering 53 goals and notching just one shutout this winter.
Burke Catholic earned a third straight trip to the state tournament by pulling away to an 8-0 win over O'Neill in the Section 9 final last weekend. The Eagles, who downed Salmon River 4-0 in Fort Covington to gain their first-ever bid to the state final four in Utica last winter, enter this year's Division II tournament with a 13-7 record. Leading offensive threats are senior winger Jason Healey (33-50-83) and speedy junior winger Josh Koerner (42-17-59), who scored four goals in the win over O'Neill. Senior captain Dillon Dolansky anchored the defensive effort in front of netminder Scott Heidman.
