By: Aidan Joly
A trio of goals in less than three minutes put Saratoga over the edge against Shenendehowa on Wednesday night at Weibel Avenue Ice Rink by a final score of 4-2.
The Blue Streaks found themselves down 2-1 after Jake Nigriny scored to give Shen the lead, but would score three goals quickly and grabbed a two-goal lead less than four minutes after falling behind. The first goal came courtesy of Jake Fauler a minute following Shen’s go-ahead goal to tie the game up 2-2. The goal was Fauler’s second of two tallies on the evening, as he scored Saratoga’s first goal.
The Blue Streaks would score again, this time on the power-play less than 90 seconds later on a one-timer from Eric Jess to give Saratoga a 3-2 advantage.
“That’s our big thing there. We scored that second goal right off the bat, and the motivation just keeps going on our side,” Fauler said.
Again, Saratoga would score just 74 seconds later, this time on a rebounded shot by Jake Fauler that Sean Sesselman finished off and put in the back of the net to make it 4-2 Saratoga at 9:10 in the second period.
“It’s a very short season. It could be over in a couple of weeks, and we don’t want it to be over. They were playing with a sense of urgency,” Saratoga head coach Dave Torres said.
It hadn’t been looking great for Saratoga in their last few outings and early in the game Wednesday, as they came in on a three-game losing streak and surrendered the first goal of the night to Shen on a slow shot that snuck through Saratoga goaltender Drew Rafferty, but after that it was all business as he only allowed one more goal.
“We really needed the win for standings, and team morale for sure,” Rafferty said.
Saratoga scored their first goal late in the first period and the game was tied 1-1 after the first 15 minutes had been played. After the three goals in the second, it was 4-2 Blue Streaks after two periods, and Saratoga held on after a scoreless third period despite going down on a 5-3 penalty kill for 25 seconds in the final few minutes.
Wednesday night was also senior night for Saratoga, and seniors Dylan Ellor, Jonathan Luse, Adam Harrison, Eric Jess, Sam Frey, Ryan Robens, Sean Sesselman , Jake Fauler and Drew Rafferty were honored in a pregame ceremony.
This loss ends a seven-game win streak for Shenendehowa, and they drop to 8-9-1 overall and 7-3-1 in league play, holding onto the number two seed with two games remaining in the season. They will be back in action on Saturday, taking on Niskayuna/Schenectady at Union College. Puck drop is scheduled for 12:15 PM.
Saratoga snaps a three-game losing streak with the win, improving to 6-5 in the league and 7-11 overall. They will play again on Friday, taking on Bethlehem at Vernon Arena as part of a team-up with Skidmore College for a “Hockey Night in Saratoga” fundraiser with proceeds going to Code Blue. That game will begin at 6:45 PM, with Skidmore’s game beginning at 7 PM next door at the Weibel Avenue Rink.
STATS:
Saratoga:
Jake Fauler: 2 goals, 1 assist
Sean Sesselman: 1 goal, 1 assist
Eric Jess: 1 goal
Ryan Seales: 1 assist
Xavier Clarke: 1 assist
Jonathan Luse: 1 assist
Shenendehowa:
Tom Relyea: 1 goal
Jake Nigriny: 1 goal
Cole Haldane: 1 assist
Goaltending:
Saratoga (Drew Rafferty): 29/31, 94% saved
Shenendehowa (Jared Vandeloo): 20/24, 83% saved