DOWN IN JIMMYTOWN

COLICCHIA PICKS UP 5 GOALS AND 4 ASSISTS
LOPIAN & SWANSON REGISTER 3 GOALS EACH
SLOW START ENDS IN RUN AWAY VICTORY

(JAMESTOWN) The Red Devils increased their win streak to four, as they traveled down to Jamestown to take on the Red Raiders. After a slow first quarter, Clarence came alive to pound Jamestown by the score of 15 to 4. The Devils were without the services of seniors Jordan Zaprowski, Dan Barron and Nick Hoffman. However, their absence was barely felt, as several players stepped up and into the lineup to contribute in the blowout victory. The Red Devils exploited the Jamestown defense throughout. Dave Colicchia had a very productive day, registering 5 goals and 4 assists. Mark Lopian, Jordan Collins-Hartwig and Tayler Swanson added three goals apiece. The win put Clarence at 6-2 in league and 8-5 overall for the season.

The first quarter was a difficult one to watch as a Clarence fan. For the first 10 minutes, neither the Red Raiders or the Red Devils could score a goal. Clarence had difficulty, attempting to clean out the rust from the long drive down.They dominated time of possession and recorded 12 shots in the opening quarter. The Red Devils just couldn't seem to finish, and it remained scoreless until 1:49 left in the first. However, Clarence got things going very quickly in the closing minutes, ripping off four unanswered before time expired in the first.

Jordan Collins-Hartwig jump-started the Devils with a nice goal. It was set up off a quick dodge and Collins-Hartwig finally found an opening. The shot was from the slot, sailing hard to the back of the net while beating Jamestown goalie Jeff Faltisco (15 saves). Devils 1-0.

One minute later, the Devils scored again. It came off a nice passing play from Dan Salvatore. Tayler Swanson picked up the tally on a nice hard cut through the Jamestown defense. Salvatore hit him with a perfect feed and Swanson buried it to make it 2-0.

With the flood gates beginning to open, the Red Devils took full advantage. With 24 seconds left, Dave Colicchia picked up his first of the day, rolling across the crease and popping it in for a three goal lead. Ryan Connolly was the setup man on a nice pass and assist to Click. Clarence 3-0.

Clarence would finish off the quarter in fine style with yet another goal. This one came with five seconds remaining. The play developed after a faceoff possession. Clarence had the ball up top, when Collins-Hartwig entered for the long stick. With no defensive matchup, Collins-Hartwig received the pass coming in and ripped a bouncer from the top of the box to beat Faltisco. Clarence finished their dismal first quarter with a flurry of offense and now led 4-0.

Unfortunately for the Raiders, the second quarter would be more of the same. The Red Devils dominated action, picking up seven goals in the quarter, and in turn, ran away with the contest. Dave Colicchia picked up his second of the day off a nice piece of work by Collins-Hartwig. Jordan picked off a Jamestown pass and quickly transitioned the ball back towards the Jamestown zone. The resulting fastbreak caught Jamestown unsettled in their own zone. Colicchia fired in a quick shot to finish the play and the Red Devils took a 5-0 lead.

Colicchia soon became the creator. Just 44 seconds later, Click found Tayler Swanson once again cutting through the Jamestown defense. Putting his size and speed to good use, Swanson received the feed and buried it to give Clarence a six goal advantage.

Just over two minutes later, Swanson struck again for his second hat trick in a week. Click was the setup man, drawing the Jamestown defense. Alone on the crease, Swanson delivered the ball into the goal to make it 7-0.

Jamestown finally answered just over a minute later. Cory Hunter (2g) picked up a quick goal off a fine assist from Matt Canby. The hard shot beat goalie Ryan Duff (5 saves) and the home team was on the board at 7-1.

The passing by Clarence in the second quarter was exceptional. Tommy Owen played a fine game. Although failing to pick up a goal, he helped set up several Red Devil opportunities. Owen picked up the assist on this one, feeding a beauty from the top of the box to Colicchia who was parked outside the crease. Click's third goal of the day came off a quick finish to make it 8-1.

Mark Lopian had his finest day as a Devil. Switching to attack in the absence of Barron & Zaprowski, Lopian found great comfort in running the Clarence offense. Lopian's first goal came from out front. Mark was about 15 yards out in the slot area, and simply turned and fired a quick, hard bouncer past Faltisco. The tally made it 9-1.

Lopian created the next goal on a bit of hustle behind the net. Pressuring the Jamestown clear, Lopian created a turnover deep in the zone. Mark quickly picked up the ball and fired it to Colicchia in front of the Raider net. Click simply popped it in for his fourth goal of the afternoon. Clarence up 10-1 with just over two minutes before halftime.

The last goal of the half was scored by Jordan Collins-Hartwig with just nine seconds remaining. It seemed like the ball had eyes of its own. Collins-Hartwig fired a hard shot at the goal from about 15 yards away. The ball changed direction, deflecting off a defenseman spinning up and over Faltisco's stick. The goal gave the Red Devils a commanding 11-1 lead at the half.

As the game progressed, several younger players found a way to contribute to the Clarence victory. Although Jamestown doesn't field a strong team, the Raiders continued to work hard until the end. Coach Jay Baehr had his players working hard in the second half. The Red Devils would have to continue competing or suffer a late Jamestown run.

The first goal of the second half came just over a minute in. The play developed off a nice clear by Alex Maglio. Maglio has played very well in the past couple weeks and this goal was a result of his hard work. Maglio fought through the midfield and legged up the clear through the Jamestown zone. Drawing the defense, Maglio quickly fired a pass down to Colicchia. Click in turn fed Lopian who had curled up behind the defense. Lopian fired it in to make it 12-1.

Gaining possesion off the next faceoff, Clarence scored just 50 seconds later. The goal was off the stick of Dan Salvatore. After a quick dodge off the left slot, Salvatore fired a cannon to the back of the Jamestown net. Faltisco was beaten cleanly by the velocity of the shot, and the Red Devil lead was 13-1.

Approximately two and a half minutes later, Lopian finished off his first varsity hat trick on another fine passing play. Maglio was the setup man, spotting Lopian again curling around the back of the goal towards the crease. Alex fired a quick skip pass through the Raider defense which Lopian snagged and promptly buried into the net. It was a nice play by two players who have been steadily contributing in recent games.

With just under seven minutes left in the third, Jamestown midfielder Mike Brooks beat Duff for the Raider's second goal of the afternoon. The goal came off a nice assist by Ben Demarco who found Brooks behind the Clarence defense. Brooks five yard bouncer fooled Duff and the score was 14-2.

The last goal of the the third came with just over five minutes remaining. Again a nice piece of work by Lopian. Faltisco was caught behind the net on an attempted Jamestown clear. Lopian ran down the goalie and checked the ball loose. Picking up the turnover, Lopian once again found Colicchia in front for the senior's fifth and final goal of the game. Score after three quarters of play: Clarence 15 Jamestown 2.

The fourth quarter saw opportunity for many of the Red Devil reserve. Dave Gallegos replaced Ryan Duff in net, releasing Duff to roam the field as an attackman. For the fourth game in a row, all players were given some valuable game experience.

The game loosened up a bit, as both teams moved the ball up and down the field. Jamestown controlled much of the play, giving the Red Devil defense some needed pressure. About four minutes into the quarter, the Red Raiders picked up their third goal of the game on a great individual effort. Cory Hunter scored his second goal of the game as he cleanly beat his defender at X and proceeded to curl his way towards the front of the net. The defense failed to body-up the aggressive midfielder on the slide and Hunter fired the ball past Gallegos from just outside the crease. The score was now 15-3.

Several minutes later, fans would be treated to the shot heard around the world. Maybe I should say the "shout" heard around the world (or at least well into the town of Falconer). In what will forever go down in Red Devil folklore, Ryan Duff would crank a incredible shot past the Jamestown goalie. Duff's voice beat the ball to the back of the net as he let out a war cry any native would have been proud of. The shot was a beauty, easily the best placed and hardest shot of the day. The missile deposited itself just under the crossbar to give the Red Devils an apparent 16-3 lead.
God giveth, and God taketh away. The goal was soon waved off when the referee realized that the head of the stick Duff was using had flown off during the shot. No goal! The tally was nullified and the score remained 15-3 Clarence.

Conspiracy theorists believe the "no goal" was no accident. The plan was hatched on the bus ride down as Ryan Connolly and Tom Owen pored over the latest edition of Cosmo. Connolly had a bet with Duff over who would score first. Duff just happened to be using Owen's stick. Coincidence? I think not. Some say it was JJ Hughes who pulled out the mounting screw on one of his frequent visits to the Jamestown bathroom. Others say it was Connolly himself who loosened the head in fear of such an event playing-out. We will never know for sure. The bottom line; Duff's goal was waved off and he will most likely remain goal-less for the 2008 season.

The balance of the quarter was difficult to watch as a frustrated Jamestown team was more concerned about laying someone out, than scoring goals. To the delight of the Jamestown parents in the stands, the Red Raiders took several liberties, looking for head shots on the Clarence players. They may have suceeded in one case, as attackman Dillon Fitzgerald received a concussion late in the game and is probably lost for the remainder of the regular season.

The last goal of the game was registered at the 1:53 mark by midfielder Sam Price as he beat Gallegos on a 15 yard bouncer from the right slot. The goal made it 15-4 in favor of the Red Devils.

Clarence played well for most of the contest and seems to be improving in several areas at this important time of the season. The Red Devils will be very busy this week, taking on Williamsville South on Wednesday, a big league matchup against Orchard Park on Thursday, and finishing with a non league game against St. Francis on Saturday. See ya out at the games!