Red Storm falls in semis to Buccaneers

The Saranac Lake rallied from a three-goal deficit in the New York State Public High School Athletic Frozen Four against Oswego, but could not find the equalizer that they had against Queensbury. The Bucs scored a 6-4 victory in the semifinal round over the Red Storm, who rallied from a 5-2 deficit late in the second period to cut the score to 5-4 heading into the final period. For the game, the Bucs held a 26-20 advantage in shots, edging the Red Storm 7-6 in the third. Blake Darrah made 20 saves in the loss. After the game, Red Storm coach Will Ellsworth said he was pleased with the Red Storm effort. "This shows you what our attitude has been all season," he said. "We believed in each other and we fought hard tonight until the end. We wanted to battle and compete today, and we did that well." "We wanted to compete, and we did that," junior forward Matt Phelan, who scored a goal, said. "We were not going to quit." "They are a great team and they were able to run their system and get to the puck," senior forward Devin Darrah said, who scored a hat trick. "We had plenty of chances in the third, we just could not put it in the net." Ellsworth gave credit to Oswego for their offensive system and pressure. "To play a team of that level and to fall basically one goal short was unbelievable," he said. "They were buzzing around the net all night long. At times, we got the better of the play in the third and the end of the second was great, but we could not get a goal." Darrah also said that he was pleased with the way his senior forward and captain, Darrah, played. "Can't say enough about Devin," Ellsworth said. "All of the captains have been carrying the team, and Devin is a dominate player and he proved it on the biggest stage we have played on. For our seniors, they were the ones that took us this far and put Saranac Lake hockey on the map. I wish them all the best of luck." Along with the finale for the seniors, Ellsworth said he was impressed with the way that the underclassmen, like Phelan, played. "The future looks good," he said. "We lose two of the best players in the North Country in Devin and Kyle Dora, but we have a nice nucleus of players." Bucs open strong The Buccaneers controlled the opening minutes of play in the first period, and converted when Trent Yule put the puck past Red Storm keeper Blake Darrah 1:44 into the game. The Red Storm continued to be blanked in the opening six minutes until Devin Darrah intercepted a pass at the Red Storm blue line, skated alone to the other side of the ice and deeked Oswego goalie Chase Iyzk stick-side to tie the score at 1-1. The Buccaneers quickly answered, though, as Dan Maniccia collected a rebound and stuffed it past Blake Darrah for a 2-1 edge at the 7:36 mark. The Buccaneers killed off the first penalty of the game, with Kyle Dora firing a slap shot that deflected off Iyzk. Chirs Spicer then went to the box for the Red Storm on a high stick call. Short-handed, Devin Darrah took his second shot of the game, which was gloved by Iyzk. The Storm went on to kill off the penalty. Devin Darrah had another breakaway opportunity at the 2:43 mark, but was taken down, resulting in an Oswego penalty to Tyler Grimshaw. The Buccaneers killed off the power play. The game, scheduled to start at 5:45 p.m., was pushed back until 7: p.m. due to each of the first three games going into overtime, with the operner, Suffern versus West Genesee, going four overtimes before Suffern won in a shootout, 2-1. Red Storm rally in second The second period opened when Josh Sova took advantage of a loose puck in the Saranac Lake end and gave the Buccaneers a 3-1 lead 51 seconds into the period. At the 11:34 mark, Sova struck again as Cody Mariano wrapped around the Saranac Lake goal and fed him for his second goal in less than four minutes. Saranac Lake then used its lone timeout to try and stem the tide, but the Buccaneers continued to blister the Red Storm net and keeper Blake Darrah. The Red Storm answered the first of Sova's goals at the 8:42 mark, scoring off a David Cluckey assist. Sova had his own answer, however, as Mariano again found the Oswego senior forward breaking toward the net, beating Blake Darrah stick-side for a 5-2 lead at the 8:19 mark, 23 seconds after Phelan's goal, giving Sova an in-period hat trick. Devin Darrah then answered with his second goal of the game, firing a slap shot just inside the Oswego blue line past the glove of Chaze Iyzk to make the scored 5-3 at the 3:59 mark. 53 seconds later, Darrah had two more shots on goal, which were both turned aside by Iyzk. With about 10 seconds left, the Red Storm co-captain again showed why he may be the best player in all of Division II, battling for a puck against a pair of Oswego defenders, leading to another breakaway where he beat Iyzk glove-side with 5.5 seconds remaining in the period, recording a hat trick for the Red Storm. Missed opportunities in third The third period opened with an Oswego penalty, but Josh Sova almost scored short-handed less than a minute into the period, which would have been his fourth of the game. Red Storm keeper Blake Darrah was able to find and cover the puck before a rebound attempt, though. The Buccaneers went on to kill off the penalty. The Red Storm had a solid opportunity around the 10:45 mark, as Devin Darrah had the puck on his stick several times. The team got three shots on goal, but were unable to score. Blake Darrah was again called on to make a big save at the 8:21 mark off a slapshot at the top of the area. He again came up big with a pair of saves at the 6:50 mark, one on a bouncing puck in front of the crease. Devin Darrah was able to win a puck in the Oswego corner at the 3:25 mark, but his shot was saved by Bucs goalie Chaze Iyzk. The Red Storm pulled Blake Darrah from the goal at the 50 second mark for the extra skater, which proved to be the downfall as Sova was able to find a loose puck and skate in for his fourth goal of the game on an easy tally to give Oswego a 6-4 lead with just 42 seconds to play.

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Red Storm falls in semis to Buccaneers

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