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H.S. Hockey: Carroll finally runs out of steam and falls in title game | |
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WEST GOSHEN -- Archbishop Carroll (I) has pulled off some unbelievable wins in the second half of the season and in the ICSHL Class AA playoff tournament. The Patriots’ luck ran out however, as Carroll dropped a heartbreaking 4-2 decision to Downingtown Thursday night at IceLine. For Carroll, it was a disappointing way to head into the Flyers Cup AA tourney. "We’re disappointed, but I still have full confidence that this team can win the Flyers Cup," said Patriots coach Bill Hammond. "We have a lot of talent here and I think we’re capable of playing at very high level in that tournament." The game did not start out great for the Patriots, as Whippets forward Ben Souders found himself all alone in the slot on a power play. Souders gathered the puck in and lifted a shot over Patriots goalie Mike Silver’s glove-side shoulder for a 1-0 lead. Downingtown was trying to match up its Ian Windle-Steve Regester-Brian Weber line against Carroll’s high-powered first line of Greg Manz, Shane Aldinger, and John Piotorwicz. The Patriots’ top line was a menace in Carroll’s 6-2 victory over the WhippetsWednesday night and is arguably the county’s top threesome. Carroll found offense in other places, however, as James Chamness drilled home a power-play goal with 30 seconds left in the first period to the game at 1-1. Sean Crowley and Justin Petrella sandwiched goals around a Carroll tally before Weber scored another Downingtown goal to give the Whippets a 4-2 lead after two periods. The Patriots’ goal was a thing of beauty as Manz fed Aldinger with an excellent backhand pass to set up the score, but it was clear that Carroll would need to have a flawless third period to pick up the win. While the Patriots did play well, it was not good enough to take the lead. It finally appeared that playing their third game in three nights and their sixth in seven nights, caught up with Carroll. "We just didn’t have the energy tonight," said Hammond. "I think playing so much in the last week finally caught up to us. "I can’t fault the kids, though. They came out and played hard and gave a great effort, we just didn’t have enough tonight. We beat some very good teams to get this far and beat them badly, so we know what we’re capable of." Carroll’s kept consistent pressure on Downingtown goaltender Chris Dalvano, but could not manage to get anything by him. With 1:36 remaining in the game, the Patriots pulled Silver, but still were not able to get anything past Dalvano. "We didn’t play three full periods tonight and that hurt us," Manz said. "We’ll make sure we do that and I think we’ll do fine in the Flyers Cup." Carroll opens up Flyers Cup AA tourney action Tuesday against Upper Darby.
To contact Chuck Smith, e-mail DailyTimesHockey@aol.com.
©The Daily Times 2004
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