Fords Bury Ridley

It took the Fords a full period to dial in their game Friday night, but when they did, the results were worth the wait. Taking on the Ridley Green Raiders at the Skatium in Havertown, the Haverford varsity hockey team slogged through a frustrating first period before a three-goal outburst in the second. A strong all-around effort carried the Fords to a 5-1 victory.

Both teams jumped out of the gate able to establish a snappy, up-tempo pace. For the Fords, their breakouts were fluid, defense-to-offense transition was sound, and everyone on the ice made decisive, low-risk plays.

Unfortunately for Haverford, the team’s collective game had no finish whatsoever. Would-be scoring chances went by the wayside in buckets. If it wasn’t a missed shot, it was a shot too weak; if it wasn’t a missed pass, it was a pass to an open man not made.

And so by the first period, both teams were punching and counterpunching but unable to find the back of the net. This would continue into the second until the Fords broke through with simple but effective hockey.

Five minutes into the frame, the Fords found themselves grinding it out along the side boards in the Ridley zone. Muscling the puck free, Ryan Haeberle was able to work it to Kevin Leyden, who had freed himself from the scrum. Walking in on the net, Leyden fired a wrister past Green Raider goalie Justin Dougherty to finally give the Fords the scoring touch they had lacked thus far.

Leyden’s goal sparked the rest of Fords, who all of a sudden found their offense by streamlining their approach. The newfound attention to basics paid off two minutes later.

Chasing down a loose puck at center ice, forward Ryan Ferrill laid off a touch pass for a streaking Vince Pantalone. Flying down the wing, Pantalone backed the Ridley defense down before snapping a shot on goal. Dougherty made a stick save, but was unable to corral the rebound. The puck bounced directly to Ferrill, who deposited the puck into the net to double the Haverford lead.

Haverford wouldn’t stop there. Following a Ridley penalty, the Fords went to work on the man advantage. Passing it around the perimeter, the power play unit attempted to find an open shooting lane. Taking the puck at the point, defenseman Adam Joskowicz ripped a shot towards the Ridley net, which Haeberle deflected on the way in. Crashing the net, Pantalone scooped up the redirection and popped it home, swelling the Ford advantage to three.

The three-goal outburst had a numbing effect on the Green Raiders, who remained listless and tepid for the next 10 minutes of game time, well into the third period. The Fords would show no mercy on the flailing Raiders, and took advantage of the tilted ice early in the third period.

Pressing their advantage, the Fords hemmed Ridley deep into their own zone. Gathering the puck in behind the goaltender, Ferrill zipped a pass to Pantalone, camped out on Dougherty’s right. Rather than take an immediate shot, Pantalone spotted Michael Leyden, who had snuck in from his position on the blueline. Pantalone guided the disc to Leyden, who rammed it past a helpless Dougherty.

Ridley was on the wrong end of a 4-0 score, but they had one last gasp of life left in them. Suddenly finding their legs, the Green Raiders threw everything into an offensive push and were rewarded when forward Chris Gardner put a rebound past Fords goalie Christopher Treat.

Haverford made sure that Ridley wasn’t able to gain any momentum from their goal, and killed any hope of a rally when Donald Shookster scored with just over seven minutes remaining in the game.

While forwards Michael McNelis and Dan Simon worked to gain and control the Ridley zone, Shookster saw an opportunity to sneak in from his position at the point. Simon slung the puck on Dougherty, who again couldn’t handle the rebound. Shookster did, and slammed it in to give the Fords a 5-1 lead, effectively sealing the win.

It’s no coincidence that Friday’s game turned when the Fords started playing simple, fundamental hockey. The resultant win was a total team effort, and proved the effectiveness of grit and smarts over flash and freewheeling.

Three Stars of the Game:

1^st Star: Vince Pantalone, F-Haverford

2^nd Star: Donald Shookster, D-Haverford

3^rd Star: Kevin Leyden, F-Haverford