BUCCANEERS BOUNCE BACK LATE-TURN BACK WARRIORS 3-2
Whitesboro goalie Joe Tartaglia tracks a second period shot.
Jeff Pexton-MHTS-PGI Photo
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For the first fifty-five minutes of tonight’s Division II High School Hockey game, the Whitesboro Warriors hockey team had the state ranked #4 Oswego Buccaneers right where they wanted them.
It was the last five minutes of tonight’s game at the Whitestown Community Center that the Warriors would like to have back, as the visiting Bucs scored 3 goals in the final five minutes of the game and defeated Whitesboro by a score of 3-2.
The game winner came with 48.7 seconds remaining in the game when David Walpole beat Warriors goalie Joe Tartaglia to give the Bucs the victory.
He’s in there somewhere…Whitesboro’s Dan Emery celebrates with teammates after his third period goal.
With the win, Oswego improves to (8-0) in the Section III Division II East, good enough for first place overall.
The loss drops Whitesboro into a precarious situation to make the playoffs, as they sit in the 6th and final playoff spot with a record of (3-6-1), just a single point above 7th place Cazenovia, the Lakers also lost this evening.
The first period of this one saw Whitesboro have the lion’s share of scoring opportunities, largely due to the fact that Oswego committed four penalties, resulting in Whitesboro having a one man advantage for six of the first twenty minutes of the game.
Ironically, Whitesboro’s first goal came on an even strength situation when Rocco DeRollo lifted a pretty wrist shot over the shoulder of Oswego goalie Chase Izyk to give Whitesboro a 1-0 lead with 7:01 to go in the opening period.
Cameron Terrenzetti and Kirk Chevrier gathered assists on the Warriors first goal.
Whitesboro’s intensity resulted in a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard and a 12-7 advantage in shots on goal over the course of the first 20 minutes of the game.
If not for some downright amazing stops by Oswego’s Izyk in the first period, Whitesboro’s lead could have been bigger.
It was really no wonder that Izyk was playing as well he was. The senior goalie came into tonight leading Section 3 in save percentage this season (.944), league wins (8) and shutouts (5).
The second period was a rather choppy affair, with neither club mounting any serious scoring threats. Whitesboro did out shoot Oswego 5-4 in the middle stanza and both goalies did was asked of them between the pipes.
In hindsight the second period of this game was definitely the calm before the proverbial storm.
Heavy Traffic – Whitesboro’s Cameron Terrenzetti (4) battles the Oswego defense and goalie Chase Izyk for a third period rebound.
After killing both of those as well, it was the final five minutes of the game that the penalties caught up with them.
With 4:35 remaining in the game, Warriors defenseman Joe DeMichele was called for cross checking, putting the Bucs on the power play.
Just 27 seconds later, teammate Geoff Webb was whistled for tripping and all of sudden Oswego had a two-man advantage with 4:08 to play.
Just 9 seconds into the power play, Sean Mooney took a pass from Travis Kearns and beat Tartaglia, tying the game at 1-1 with 3:59 to go in the contest.
Jake Anderson also assisted on Oswego’s tying goal.
With the score tied at 1-1 and Oswego still with a man advantage, Mooney tallied again, this time unassisted, to give Oswego a 2-1 lead with 3:28 to go.
As if this game needed any more drama, on the ensuing face off at center ice, Whitesboro drove the puck into the Oswego end and Kirk Chevrier fed linemate Dan Emery with a terrific pass and Emery put it to good use, beating Izyk and tying the game at 2-2 with 3:19 to go in the game, capping an absolutely incredible seventy seconds of hockey!
Whitesboro’s Rocco DeRollo (7) heads in for the first goal of the game.
With everyone thinking overtime and probably a whole bunch of adrenaline flowing in every player on the ice, David Walpole must have had ice in his veins and a strong urge to get back to Oswego at a decent hour.
The crafty senior beat Tartaglia with 48.7 seconds remaining, icing the come from behind win and first place alone for Oswego in the Division II East.
Chase Izyk stopped 24 of 26 shots he faced in-goal for Oswego. Joe Tartaglia stopped 16 of the 19 he saw for Whitesboro.
Whitesboro will travel to Skaneateles this Friday for yet another key Division II battle, which will undoubtedly carry heavy playoff implications for the Warriors.
Oswego will face JD-CBA tomorrow night in Syracuse.
Oswego 3 Whitesboro 2
Box Score
1 2 3 Final
Oswego 0 0 3 3
Whitesboro 1 0 1 2
