St. Anthony's wins second straight Suffolk ice hockey championship
Smithtown/Hauppauge had a sellout crowd an hour before the game. They made sure to be in the ear of St. Anthony's goaltender Jordan Valcich. The senior netminder was not fazed.
In fact, he was the difference.
Valcich made 29 saves to lead St. Anthony’s to its second straight Suffolk hockey championship with a 2-1 victory over Smithtown/Hauppauge in the deciding Game 3 of the finals at The Rinx in Hauppauge on Wednesday night.
“They were in my ear, but you gotta tone it out,” Valcich said. “They were yelling at me and I didn’t hear a word they said. Our defense played great in front of the net, and we knew what was on the line and we got it done. It’s amazing.”
St. Anthony’s will face Long Beach in the Long Island championship game on March 14 at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow. St. Anthony's (20-4-1) and Smithtown/Hauppauge (22-3) will first travel to Binghamton for the state tournament, which begins Feb. 27.
The Friars kept the Bulls scoreless for the first 41 minutes.
Smithtown/Hauppauge's Liam McNamara broke through, putting home a rebound to cut the lead to one with 3:22 left, and the momentum shifted.
”We told them to keep playing the way we did all game.” St. Anthony’s coach Bob Lund said. “And they did everything they could to not let the puck get to the net.”
Smithtown/Hauppauge pulled its goalie with around two minutes left, but St. Anthony's seniors Anthony Cutalo and Zack Sirel helped lock down the Friars' defense.
“The first travel game I played was here,” Cutalo said. “So now senior year, winning at this rink means everything. Our preparation was big today and I can’t wait for states.”
The Friars started fast. Cutalo sped past a defender and buried a shot low to give St. Anthony’s a 1-0 lead with 13:28 left in the first period.
Junior forward Benjamin Caraher took the puck up ice after a Smithtown turnover and cashed in to put the Friars ahead 2-0 with 12:56 left in the second period. That was the first time in this three-game series that a team led by more than one goal.
The Bulls created chances in the second period but could not score.
“There is no quit in this team,” Smithtown coach Mark DuBeau said. “We relied on our captain Connor [DuBeau], our emotional leader on the bench. We fought but they won. It was all one-goal games. I haven’t seen a trilogy like that since Mickey Ward and Arturo Gatti.”
