Larries Blanked In D II Semis
By ALAIN ST. PIERRE
UTICA — Instead of staging a third straight postseason comeback, the St. Lawrence Central hockey team came up empty to Section 2 champion Queensbury in the semifinals of the state Division II tournament Saturday at the Utica Auditorium.
The Larries, making their first appearance in the state semifinals in 20 years, lost 4-0 to the Spartans.
"We were guilty of not getting enough pucks toward the net. When we had opportunities, it seemed like we were trying to get too cute," said St. Lawrence coach Mickey Locke. "Queensbury is a talented team. They did a great job of bottling us up in the neutral zone and they limited our chances more and more as the game wore on."
With its 10th win in 11 games, Queensbury improved to 17-7-1 and earned its first berth to the state championship game. The Spartans, who have won four straight sectional titles, will play defending Division II champion New Hartford at 3:30 p.m. today. New Hartford advanced by blanking Section 7 champion Plattsburgh 6-0 in the other semifinal.
Saratoga and West Genesee are slated to play for the Division I title starting at 12:30 p.m. today.
The Spartans generated the first six shots of the game before the Larries starting to find their stride midway through the opening period, but neither team was able to break through despite combining for 17 shots on goal.
Queensbury started the second period on the power play and quickly took advantage to score the only goal it would need when Connor Potvin redirected a centering pass into the goal just 51 seconds into the period.
"Special teams play is so important this time of year," Locke said. "That was the first power play goal we've given up in the playoffs and it turned out to be a big one for them. We started the third period with a power play and it fizzled out for us."
The Spartans added to their lead just over a minute later when Brandon Edwards intercepted an SLC crossing pass in the neutral zone and quickly slid the puck ahead to teammate Morgan Mifsud, who went in to score a breakaway goal at the 1:54 mark.
After opening the third period by stifling a Larries' power play, the Spartans kept up the offensive pressure and pushed their lead to 3-0 when Brian Frederick knocked home a rebound with 7:31 left in regulation. Mifsud sealed the win by sending a shot three quarters of the length of the ice into an empty net with 57 seconds left.
Junior Dylan Hafner stopped the 20 shots he faced in posting the shutout while Jordan Gary handled 26 shots in goal for the Larries, who finished at 16-8.
"Our kids left it all out there on the ice. We have a good core coming back and hopefully the experience of getting to this game is something that we can draw upon next year," Locke said.
The loss marked the end of the SLC hockey careers of seniors Jack Keenan, Charlie Dullea, Jobie McCarthy, Tim Joanette and Doug Colbert.
