RallyNorth.net

Late goals keep Pinkerton in first place

Saturday, January, 21 By Jeff Hamrick

SALEM – The way Pinkerton was putting shots on goal last night, the Astros figured it was just a matter of time until one found its way to the back of the net.

And once again, the better-late-than-never adage proved true.

The Division 1 leading Astros scored its first goal with just 2:19 left in regulation then added the game winner with 25 seconds remaining in overtime for a 2-1 victory over Salem at the Icenter.

With time running out in overtime, it was sophomore JD Dudek who streaked down the right side of the rink before knocking the winning goal past Salem goalie A.J. Soucy, who was brilliant most of the game despite being pummeled with shots.

“I got the pass from (Zach) Sanford, who has been giving me these nice passes the entire year, and had open ice,” Dudek said about his 13^th goal of the season. “I saw the goalie’s stick was open and found the opening in the net … We knew eventually that (Soucy) was going to let up something. We just had to keep shooting.”

Dudek, however, would never had had the chance to play hero if it hadn’t been for sophomore Connor Donahue, who took a nice pass from freshman Devin Moore at the point to finally beat Soucy late in the third period.

Entering with a six-game winning streak, Pinkerton (8-1 overall, 7-1 Division 1) pelted Soucy the entire game. The Astros put 32 shots on the senior goaltender in regulation, including 14 in the second period, but Soucy was up to the task.

“We just kept telling the kids to stay with it,” Pinkerton coach Casey Kesselring said. “Our word for the year has been ‘Be relentless’. We kept telling them the next one is going in. You have to think it’s going in … (Salem) played good team defense and their goalie was fantastic. But if you keep putting enough rubber on them, eventually the law of averages is going to kick in.”

Salem (8-3, 5-3) took a first-period lead on an unassisted goal by Mike Downing, who intercepted a Pinkerton pass at the blue line and fired a wrister past Astro goalie Nate Mitchell with 30 seconds left in the opening stanza.

The Blue Devils, however, never mounted a consistent scoring threat. But despite only 19 shots on Mitchell in the match, they almost pulled off the win behind Soucy’s play.

“He’s played like that all year,” said Salem coach Mark McGinn, whose squad gets a chance to atone for a 5-2 loss to Londonderry at 6:50 p.m. Monday at the Icenter. “He’s kept us in games. He stays focused … He looks weird doing it, but he makes the stop and he’s a competitor. This was an easy (match) to get up for against a first-place team, and I think we showed when we can play with anyone in the state.”