TRAGEDY NARROWLY AVERTED

COLLINS-HARTWING NETS WINNER WITH 1:24 LEFT
DEVILS HELD SCORELESS FOR 35 MINUTES
GALLAGHER FINISHES WITH 3 FOR MARAUDERS

(CLARENCE) The Clarence Red Devils squeeked out another win on Thursday, edging visiting St. Joes by a 6-5 score. After a quick 4-1 lead in the first quarter, the Red Devils were held scoreless for approximately 35 minutes of the contest. The Marauders came back to take the lead with five minutes left in the game. However, Clarence awoke from its slumber to respond with two goals in the last two minutes to win. Jordan Collins-Hartwig scored the game winner with just 1:24 left on the clock. The Red Devils finished-off their regular season with a 11-7 record.

The first quarter started out well for the Red Devils as they controlled much of the action throughout. Clarence registered four first quarter goals, dominating time of possession over the Marauders who now stand 5-12 on the season. The Red Devils struck first on a nice passing play in transition. The play began off the stick of J.D. Skura. The junior defenseman picked up the ball in Clarence territory and legged it up through the midfield for the clear. Once in the St. Joes zone, Skura fired a quick pass down to Jordan Zaprowski. With the Marauder defense struggling to get settled, Zap moved the ball over to Dave Colicchia just outside the crease. Colicchia quick-sticked it past St. Joes goalie Joe Lucchese (7 saves) to make it 1-0 Red Devils.

About two minutes later, Clarence scored again on a goal by Jordan Collins-Hartwig (2g). Working at X behind the St. Joes goal, Dave Colicchia fed Collins-Hartwig just above the goal line extended. Collins-Hartwig worked his man up the alley for a better angle shot. At about 10 yards away, Collins-Hartwig curled around and ripped a shot past Lucchese to make it 2-0.

Three minutes later, the Marauders responded on a nice passing play of their own. The play was created at X by Jon Rossi. Rossi dodged several times and then unleashed a quick pass to junior midfielder Brian Hurley. Hurley pulled in the pass and then promptly fired it past Clarence golaie Ryan Duff (11 saves) to make it 2-1 Clarence.

The Red Devils responded immediately, just 14 seconds later. The play developed shortly after the faceoff. Ryan Connolly won possession and carried it in instantly towards the St. Joes defense. Connolly dished it over to Colicchia, who quickly spotted Mark Lopian (1g, 1a) in the crease area. Lopian pulled in the pass and popped it past Lucchese for a 3-1 lead.

Clarence wasn't finished yet. With just :55 left on the clock, the Red Devils took advantage of a St. Joes penalty. When Lucchese was charged with cross-checking penalty, the Marauders had to quickly put in senior long stick Brendan Murphy. Just seconds after the penalty was released, Jordan Zaprowski (1g, 1a) dodged out from the goal line extended and beat Murphy from just outside the left crease. The quarter ended with the Devils in command at 4-1.

From the beginning moments of the second, until the last two minutes of the game, the Clarence offense fell silent. Thirty five minutes in all, filled with a total of ten Clarence penalties and some of the most frustrating offensive moments of the 2008 season. Five minutes of man-down penalty time was doled out to the Red Devils during the second, and St. Joes took advantage of one these opportunities to get back on the board.

On their first extra man opportunity of the afternoon, St. Joes picked up their second goal. The tally came off a nice set up and assist from Jacob Federico. Moving the ball around the Clarence defense, Federico spotted teammate Dean Gallagher off the left crease. Gallagher was the go-to guy for the Marauders on the day, picking up three goals. Gallagher quickly popped in the feed pass for the only goal scored in the second quarter. At the break, a reeling Red Devil squad still held a 4-2 edge.

The second half was more of the same for the home team. Even with just one penalty assessed, Clarence could do little in the way of offense. Overall, the Red Devils managed five total shots in the third. With renewed confidence, St. Joes picked up the pace, outhustling and outworking the Devils to every groundball. Maurauder LSM Brendan Murphy showed why he is one of the top players in WNY, controlling action in the clearing game. Ryan Duff was solid in net for Clarence, making four saves during the third while keeping his team in contention.

At the 4:13 mark of the third, St. Joes pulled to within one goal. Senior midfielder James Long scored a beauty on a great individual effort. Up top of the Clarence defense, Long beat his defender on a quick dodge. Failing to take the body on the threat, Long made the Red Devils pay, ripping a shot past Duff from about 10 yards out. Trailing just 4-3 after the third quarter, the Marauders now knew their comeback bid was well within reach.

Twelve minutes remained. Experiencing little in the form of resistance, St. Joes seemed poised to overtake the Red Devils in the fourth. And that's exactly what they did. The Red Devils would get into penalty trouble once again, picking up six in the fourth quarter.

The momentum was clearly on the Marauders side, and Dean Gallagher went to work just under two minutes into the fourth. Clarence made a substitution error which left the Devils defending man down in their own end. Taking full advantage of the confusion, the Marauders put on the pressure. Jon Rossi made a quick dodge up top of the Red Devil defense. Struggling to get a pass off, Rossi bounced the ball to Gallagher. Picking up the ball, Gallagher found himself open for a quick shot. Duff had little chance as Gallagher ripped it to the back of the net. The Marauders had knotted the game at five with just over ten minutes left to play.

Over five minutes passed as both teams struggled to create any offense. The Red Devil man- down unit fought off two and a half minutes worth of penalty time with very few shots. Finally, Gallagher struck, for his third goal of the game. Once again it was setup by Federico with some great ball movement. Gallagher was all alone on the backside crease. The shot past Duff caused an eruption of emotion from the Marauder bench! With just over five minutes remaining, St. Joes now led 5-4.

And then the sleeping giant awoke from its slumber. Finally, forced to respond, the Red Devils fought back. With just under two minutes remaining, Tom Owen and Mark Lopian worked hard to get Clarence even. Lopian created the play from behind at X. Seeing Owen open, he quickly dished the ball in front. Owen had a defender in tight on him, but quickly made a hard dodge towards the net and beat Lucchese with a nice shot. Game tied 5-5!

After a listless performance for much of the game, Clarence was now re-energized and you could feel the momentum switch back in favor of the home team. The winner would come just 29 seconds later. After the faceoff, the ball was moved into the Red Devil zone. However, the Marauders would fail to maintain possession. Senior captain Jordan Collins-Hartwig did the rest. Collins-Hartwig legged the ball out to midfield and proceeded to carry it into the St. Joes zone. Experiencing little resistance, Collins-Hartwig wound up and fired a bouncer from about 5 yards top side of the restraining line. The long, low shot seemed to fool Lucchese and bounced in for the game winner!

Neither team was able generate a scoring opportunity in the last minute and a half. The Red Devils somehow found a way to dig down and beat the surging Marauders 6-5 to finish off their regular season on a high note!

Obviously, it is always nice to get a win going into the playoffs. However, the reality of the situation is that St. Joes has struggled to win this season. The Red Devils' effort through almost three quarters of the game was lackluster at best. Clarence was very fortunate to win a game in which they were outplayed and took several undisciplined penalties. Come playoff time, those ingredients add up to an early exit. Williamsville North has played better of late, winners of 5 out of 8 since the 10-2 loss to Clarence on May 5th. With a big win over West Seneca East last friday, the Spartans feel that they can make a big statement in the first round. It will be up to the Red Devils to respond if they entertain thoughts of continuing their season one step further. This Clarence squad has a chance to be the first twelve win team in school's history. Also, the Red Devils could register their first ever playoff win by defeating the Spartans. North ended the Clarence's 2007 season with a 10-5 victory over the Red Devils. It would be a shame for the seniors to end it the same way again this year. Stay tuned!

Class A Quarterfinals: Friday, May 30th vs. Williamsville North @ CHS. Football field?!?