Gators grab win over SV
WARRENDALE — The Seneca Valley hockey team has been on solid footing all season.
But against Gateway Tuesday, the Raiders fell into a hole and couldn't pull themselves out completely.
Trailing 4-2, Seneca Valley scored a pair of goals in a 51-second span late in the game, but Gateway's Troy McAteer scored with 3:06 remaining to give the Gators a 5-4 victory at BladeRunners.
Gateway entered the game with a 1-4 record; the Raiders were 6-0.
"We are not a 1-4 team," said Gators' coach Mark Marchi. "We've lost some close games. ... This game was a gut check."
"Gateway really played great tonight," said Seneca Valley coach Denis Kirstein. "They buried their chances 100 percent."
The Raiders trailed 4-2 before Sam Jarrett scored off a deflected save by Gators goalie Jeff Siwik with 4:40 left. Logan Pfeffer took the shot that led to the Jarrett goal.
Tyler Wagner then scored unassisted in front of the net to pull the Raiders even.
Following a Gateway timeout, the Gators wasted little time in retaking the lead when McAteer broke free with two defenders in tow and fired a shot past Raiders goalie Ryan Schutte for the game-winner.
The Raiders had trailed 2-0 after one period because of a breakaway goal by Andrew Plate with 5:30 left and a power-play score by McAteer with 2:00 left.
The Raiders bounced back by tying the game in a 2:32 span when Tyler Mesisca scored with 13:17 left in the second period, then Sean Sokolowski added a short-handed goal with 10:45 left. He was knocked off the puck on a breakaway, but regained control and beat Siwik.
The Gators, however, still netted a goal on that power-play opportunity. With only four seconds left on the penalty, Jake Dehass took a Jordan Mardirossian pass in front of the goal for the 3-2 Gators lead.
Plate added his second goal of the game with 7:06 left in the second period, a score that held up through intermission.
"They did a good job clogging the net," Kirstein said. "We only had 14 shots in the first two periods. We had games where we had 30 and 41, but not 14 after two periods.
The Raiders had surrendered only seven goals in their first six games — four coming in a 7-4 win against Plum.
"We knew Seneca Valley was a tough team," said Plate. "We had nothing to lose. We were firing on all cylinders. We told each other to relax (when the leads were lost) and came right back."
"Gateway played a great game," said Kirstein. "Their passes were crisp. They wanted it more. That's the toughest part: when you get beat not just physically, but emotionally."
