Devils Bid To Knockoff
East Goes Up In Flames

East Middies Shriever & Teal Account For 3 Goals & 2 Assists
Duff Makes 14 Saves In Another Standout Performance
Zaprowski & Colicchia Net 2 Goals Apiece In Loss
Costly Penalties Undo Clarence In Second Half

(EAST AMHERST) After a two week break, the Red Devils returned to action against the Williamsville East Flames in a non-league contest. The weather was in the mid 40s under overcast skies. Poor weather conditions in the days leading up to game left the field soft and muddy. However, it would not be the mud that did the Devils in on this day. The Flames midfield combined for 4 goals and 3 assists and helped East dominate in time of possession for much of the game. Clarence took on almost 15 minutes in penalties and lacked the poise down the stretch to compete in a tight game.

East jumped on the board quickly as midfielder Joe Schriever (2g, 1a) ripped home a shot just minutes into the game, catching the Clarence defense unsettled in their own zone. However, the Devils responded a short time later as Dave Colicchia (2g, 2a) continued his hot hand, scoring his fourth goal of the season. Colicchia fought his way through the mud and East D-poles to fire a hard underhand shot past the Flames goaltender.

Shortly thereafter, East scored the go-ahead goal. This time, middie Jay Winzenreid found the back of the net, giving the Flames a 2 to 1 lead. Attackman Andrew Ross continued the onslaught, scoring the third East goal and beginning a potential rout of the visiting Devils. Clarence was outplayed for much of the first quarter and seemed to generate little in the form of offense. However, a key player for the Devils during this time span was goalie Ryan Duff (14 saves). Duff came up with 6 big saves in the first quarter keeping the Devils in the game.

The second quarter belonged to the Red Devils. Clarence closed the gap to 3-2 when junior attackman Jordan Zaprowski took matters into his own hands, scoring on a nice dodge and curl from behind the net. "Zappo's" goal brought new-found energy and emotion to a listless Devils team. Minutes later, Zaprowski scored again on a mis-play by the Flames goaltender. On a failed clearing attempt, the ball fell down precariously several yards in front of the East goal crease. Jordan raced to the ball, scooped it up, and faked out the East goaltender to knot the score at three apiece. Riding the momentum, Dave Colicchia tallied his second goal of the game on a nice shot from about 5 yards away. The Devils three unanswered goals put them up 4-3 minutes before the end of the half.

However, the Clarence momentum was abruptly snapped with 8 seconds remaining in the second quarter. East attackman Austin Weil fired an uncontested bounce shot from about 10 yards out to tie the game. Unfortunatley for the Devils, this swing in emotion would carry throughout the second half.

The second half was a nightmare for the visiting Devils as they slowly imploded, taking several undisciplined penalties. Clarence took a total of 8 penalties and played man-down for 10 of the 24 minutes in the final two quarters. In the process, the host Flames took control and slowly pulled away from an extremely frustrated Red Devil squad.

Joe Schriever scored his second of the day to put East up 5 to 4. A short time later, Austin Weil added his second, extending East's lead to 6 to 4 midway through the third quarter. The Devils misfortune was not due to a lack of effort. They fought back to a 6-5 deficit with just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Senior midfielder John Syty would score his third goal of the season on a beautiful feed from Dan Barron.

If the Red Devils entertained any notion of making a run at the Flames, they would have to overcome a 3 minute (unreleasable) stick penalty to start the fourth quarter. The penalty came at a bad time for the Devils who were struggling to overcome previous infractions and somehow stay alive in the contest. Approximately a minute into the fourth quarter, midfielder Brad Teal would bury a shot past Duff to build back a two goal lead for East.

An agitated and frustrated Clarence team became overly aggressive and took three additional penalties late in the game. Derick Frost finished off the East scoring to make it an 8 to 5 victory for the host Flames.

Considering East's dominance in time of possession, the Red Devil defense played well throughout the contest. Nick Robinson, J.D. Skura and Nick Hoffman continually limited the Flames scoring opportunities. However, the play of Duff stood out above all Red Devil players.

The Devils begin league play on Thursday, April 19th against North Tonawanda at Clarence High School. A 5:00 pm start time. See you there!!!