Crusaders Knock Out Islanders

KINGSTON—Often times statistics can be misleading, but the penalty numbers in Saturday night’s Division-II playoff game between The Prout School and Middletown High do pretty good job of telling what kind of game it was.

The two teams combined for 22 penalties, 44:00 total minutes in the box and one very chippy game which neither team wanted to lose.

Unfortunately that kind of comes with the territory of competition, and at the Boss Ice Arena on Saturday it was Middletown that came up short 6-3 against Prout.

“I don’t think that it has set in yet, and it will set in later on tonight, tomorrow and even into Monday when we get back to practice,” Prout head coach John Gaffney said.  “They deserved it, that was kind of the mentality going into this series, we thought that we were the better team from the start.”

The Crusaders advance to the semifinals of the D-II tournament where they will face top-seeded Coventry High.

“We’re just going to have to want it more,” Prout senior Thomas Williams said.  “We’re going to have to come out and give it our all, and that’s the only way we’re going to be able to do it.”

Williams, who has battled injuries all season, provided the scoring lift that the Crusaders needed with three goals and an assist.

“I had it, I don’t know what that guy saw out there, it was a little disappointing, but the third one felt nice to get the hat trick,” Williams said.  “The chances kept coming and we were able to take advantage of them.”

Williams’ biggest goal came just 43 seconds into the third period, picking up a loose puck in the Middletown zone and beating Islander junior goalkeeper Bennett Coogan as he was upended from behind. 

“You’ve got a team that’s tough to score on, and a one goal lead you’re right there, but two goals is different,” Middletown head coach Steve Saunders said.  “They’re a tough team and they played well.”

Williams completed the hat trick after what would have been his third goal was disallowed with two minutes remaining in the second period.

“It was never comfortable, both games were never comfortable because they’ve got some guys that can snipe,” Gaffney said.  “When we got it up to a three goal lead then we were able to relax a little bit.”

Senior Christopher Haughey added a sixth goal for Prout 10:32 into the period, and shortly after that the game broke down.

“We tried to be the more disciplined team in this series, so I don’t know if that happened,” Gaffney said.  “It’s something to be worked on.”

The two squads had a combined 10 penalties in the final two minutes of the game, including a fight with 44.9 seconds left that ushered five Middletown and three Prout players to the penalty box.

“There’s a lot of passion out there, and any time you play back to back games there are guys out there that have taken a hit and want to get back I guess,” Saunders said.  “I don’t take too much in that, they’re an aggressive team and we’re not going to back down either, so that’s what happens.”

The Islanders scored all three of their goals in the first period, with sophomore Phil Caron, sophomore Shane Murphy and freshman Michael Curtis responsible for the scoring.

Junior James Underhill and senior Robert LaChance each had goals for Prout, while junior Zane Morgan finished with 14 saves between the pipes.

For the Islanders the sweep comes at the end of a very good season in which Middletown went 13-5 in D-II South.

“It was real tough, these kids have had a great season and we’ve found way to win these close, tight games and we just weren’t able to,” Saunders said.  “I told them that we had a great season and I’m really proud of them.  They tried hard and it just didn’t go.”

The Crusaders in all likelihood will face top-seed Coventry High in the semifinals, who wrapped up the regular season with a 16-2 mark in D-II Central.

“Unless something crazy happens, they’re going to be tough to match up against,” Gaffney said.  “We can’t be taking 25 minutes in penalties a night and still look to come out on the plus side on the scoreboard.”

BOYS ICE HOCKEY—GAME TWO

Prout 6, Middletown 3

                                                1^st             2^nd          3^rd—Final

Prout                                       3                 1                 2—6

Middletown                            3                0                 0—3

First period: P, Williams 2:33, Williams (LaChance, Hagerty) 12:01, LaChance (Underhill, Thomas) 14:03; M, Murphy (Godin) 3:52, Caron (Armstrong) 6:31, Curtis (Larcom, Saunders) 13:42.  Penalties: P 4-8:00; M 4-8:00.

Second Period: Underhill (Williams, Peacock) 6:21.  Penalties: P 1-2:00.

Third Period: P, Williams (Hagerty) 0:43, Haughey (LaChance, Ruzzo) 10:32.  Penalties: P 5-10:00; M 8-16:00.

Shots: P 32-17.  Saves: P, Morgan 14; M, B. Coogan 22, Turano 4.