Atoms Beat Robinson 9-8

The following recap was submitted and written by Annandale Patch reader, Regina Deible.

A lot can happen in 49 seconds, and no one knows that better than the Annandale Atoms. On Thursday, the Atoms capitalized on the strength of their offense to beat Robinson with two quick goals as the clock wound down to secure the win and advance them to the semifinals next week. The regional game, hosted at Annandale High School, was said to be the game of the week and the teams didn’t disappoint.

Annandale jumped out to an early lead as all-American Nate Miller posted the first goal, followed by defenseman Peter Hagan who traversed the entire field with his long strides and fired at the net for a 2-0 lead.

The student section exploded after the goal, chanting “you’re overrated” to a surprised Robinson team. But the Rams weren’t about to relent. They responded with three goals while trying to silence the large crowd. Back and forth it went all game for these two powerhouse teams as both defensive ends held the sharpshooters at bay.

Hagan did an outstanding job limiting the opportunities of Clarke Pietruszka who leads the Rams in goals this season. The game culminated with the entire crowd on their feet with less than a minute to go.

The Atoms called a timeout and the confident team took their positions and never looked back. Nate Miller went unassisted as he shot at the far pipe to tie up the game. Andy Craig (who dominated faceoffs all game) continued his winning trend as he took possession and passed to his brother Stephen Craig who then worked the ball around and into Ryan Miller's hand.

Miller capitalized on his opening and unleashed a hard shot to the right corner of the net to take the lead. With 21 seconds remaining, the Atoms knew that they had to secure possession to remain the victors. After the faceoff there was a frenzied scrum in quest of the ball which landed in Bob Steven's stick.

The clock ticked down as the Atoms rejoiced with sticks and gloves flying everywhere. Annandale again relied on the strength of their team play as six players all contributed goals: Nate Miller (with four) and Ryan Miller, Nick Lalande, Zack Lalande and Peter Hagan with one apiece.

Additionally, Joe Bermingham had another solid performance in the goal. The Atoms will now head to the regional semifinals against a strong Langley team that boasts two recent state titles.

With their momentum building on these recent wins, they are hoping to achieve what hasn’t been done at AHS since 1997: becoming state champions.