FANTASTIC FINISH

Syty Provides Red Devils With Three Goals in A Rivalry Classic.
Duff Stands Tall In Net, Is Difference-Maker On Last Second Shots.
Red Devils Even record At 4 and 4 On The Season.

(LANCASTER) Emerging from a sea of black jerseys, Clarence goalie Ryan Duff wore a wide grin as he struggled to catch his breath. Just moments before, Duff had swallowed up a last second barrage of shots to preserve a thrilling 7 to 6 Red Devil victory over rival Lancaster. The Clarence celebration was well deserved as they put together their most complete game of the season in an ever important league matchup. The last moments of the game saw the Red Devils stave-off a Redskin bid to send the game into overtime. With just over a minute left, the dangerous Lancaster attack continually swarmed around the Clarence goal crease in their quest to tie the game at seven. However, Duff and the Red Devil defense held strong in the face of the impending storm. In the final seconds, Duff made two big saves against the Redskins. The first a shot from about 10 yards out was blocked by the Clarence netminder.The ball rebounded in front of the crease, Lancaster picked it up and fired a second shot at the net, only to be once again denied by Duff's stick. As time expired, the ball rolled harmlessly away from the Clarence net to set off the Red Devil post game celebration. The emotion displayed by both the teams throughout the hard hitting contest made this one extra special.

The first quarter saw back and forth action as both teams were testing each other. Dan Barron ( 1g ) put Clarence up 1 to 0 on one of his signature laser beams. Barron took a pass from Jordan Zaprowski and then dodged back and forth off the left side of the crease. Finding an opening, Barron fired away for a Red Devil score.

Later in the first quarter, Dave Colicchia ( 2g 1a ) scored one of his prettiest goals of the season, as he dodged from the back of the crease and fired in a hard jumpshot, beating the Redskin netminder. The goal gave Clarence a 2 to 0 lead, which held up for the remainder of the first quarter. Both goalies played well throughout the first. Jason Russillio was strong in net for Lancaster, keeping them in contention throughout the contest.

Clarence held the edge in possession for much of the first quarter. Early in the second, John Syty (3g) tacked on another goal for the Red Devils. Syty made it 3 to 0 on a nice passing play. Barron set up at X behind the net and hit Syty on a cut through the Redskin defense. Syty buried the shot home, and it looked as though the visitors would have little difficulty against Lancaster on this day. However, a determined Redskin team fought back strong, as the Devils slipped into their annoying penalty habits.

Lancaster attackman Anthony Marrano ( 2g, 2a ) got things going on a quick shot, beating Duff and closing the margin to two goals. However, Marrano wasn't finished yet, as he scored another, ripping a shot off the right crease from about 10 yards out. The goal made the score 3 to 2 and re-energized the Lancaster team.

The Red Devils responded in grand fashion as Syty showed his offensive prowess once again. The senior captain beat Russillio on a shot from just outside the middle crease area. Colicchia made a nice play, dodging his defender back and forth, forcing a slide which left Syty open for the finish.

Jordan Collins-Hartwig ( 1g, 1a ) scored next to restore the Clarence three goal lead. Collins-Hartwig had another solid outing, dominating in the midfield and creating offensive opportunities for Clarence throughout the contest. Jordan has had some nice goals this season, but this was my favorite, ripping a hard shot from almost 15 yards off the right slot. The goal made it 5 to 2 at the halftime break.

The second half saw a slow turn in momentum towards the Redskins. The Devils were flagged for four penalties during the third quarter which seemed to allow the Lancaster attack to get their game going. When Duff was flagged for an illegal bodycheck early, sophomore callup Jason "Coach" Pazda entered the game under extremely difficult circumstances. Pazda looked sharp in net deflecting two Redskin shot attempts.

Several minutes later, on another Clarence man down situation, the Red Devils wouldn't be as fortunate. Redskin attackman Shaun Setlocks ( 3g ) scored his first of the day, dodging from behind the right crease area to beat Duff in front and close the gap to 5 to 3. Setlocks' EMO goal was the only score of the third quarter. However, the game would get exciting down the stretch.

The Redskins stole the momentum from the Red Devils during the third quarter. The revitalized Lancaster attack began to control much of the play. However, neither team would take a penalty in the action packed fourth quarter. Lancaster sophomore Luke Cellino played extremely well in the midfield, winning battles and forwarding the ball into the Clarence zone. Lancaster middie Ken Chudoba scored the first goal of the fourth, on a nice feed from Marrano. His "timely tally" pulled the Skins to within one goal of the Devils.

Setlocks would knot the game shortly thereafter on a nice feed from Matt Hineman. The Lancaster faithful were on their feet, with the score 5 to 5, the Red Devils would need a spark to fight back the streaking Redskins.

Colicchia would score the all-important next goal for Clarence. Click once again used his quick dodging skills to leave his defender behind, firing a shot past Russillio to make it 6 to 5 Clarence with less than five minutes left in the game. With new found energy, Clarence added another, catching the Redskins unsettled off a free clear. Collins-Hartwig found Syty deep in the Lancaster zone. Syty snared the pass, ran down the middle of the defense and fired a bounce shot in, making it a 7 to 5 game. With a little breathing room, the Red Devils would hope to hold Lancaster off for the final minutes of the game.

Coach Mullen and the Redskins had other ideas. Shortly after the Syty goal, Setlocks notched his third goal of the game on a pretty pass from Marrano and the scene was set for the final exciting finish.

The Red Devil defense played extremely well throughout. Nick Robinson, JD Skura, and Nick Hoffman were difference makers against the potent Lancaster attackman. Hoffman had his best game of the year, continually harrassing and discouraging shots all over the zone. Once again, the depth at D-pole showed itself as Jared Stockwell and Zack Metzger made several key plays during the game.

The last minutes were extremely intense. Midfielder Josh Rawdin helped the Clarence cause, fighting for and scooping groundballs. Rawdin's competitive spirit came out full force in the waning moments as he upended a Redskin middie fighting for a loose ball. As the two players took each other out, a Redskin middie fought to gain possession as the ball raced towards the sideline. Just as he appeared to gain control, Hoffman closed in and "lit up" the Lancaster middie for the best body check of the year! (Sorry Duff, but this one was actually legal) A wave of positive emotion spread through the rest of the Clarence team, gaining confidence in the final moments.

The last few seconds of the game seemed like an eternity. With the clock ticking down, the Red Devil defense and Lancaster attack went head to head. Lancaster worked the ball for the final tying shot. With five seconds to go the Setlocks brothers each fired a shot directly at the Clarence goal, only to be denied by the 'Duffinator'. Duff pulled off his helmet in triumph shortly before succumbing to the growing pile of Red Devil players on top of him. When asked about those last pressure filled moments of the game, Duff responded by saying, "To tell you the truth, I wasn't even sure what the score was at the time!" God Bless The Duffinator.