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Gilmour hockey season ends in fourth overtime
(by Tony Lange - March 17, 2011)
Gilmour hockey season ends in fourth overtime
By TONY LANGE
As Gilmour Academy's hockey team skated into the closing minutes of last Saturday's state semifinal game down 2-0, the stage was set for a late run.
After giving up two goals to St. Edward in the first period, the Lancers and Eagles played a scoreless second period, and the defensive battle continued in the third.
Everybody felt like the Lancers were going to give their best effort all the way to the buzzer, head coach John Malloy said. "Even though we didn't score until late, I don't think there was any doubt that we were going to make a run at it."
Past the midway point of the third and final period, the Lancers' No. 1 power-play unit was on the ice for its third penalty attempt of the day.
"We had actually had them out there a little longer than normal, because, being down two-nothing, we wanted to do everything we could to try to get a goal, and they had just come out, and our second unit had just got out there," Malloy said "The puck came to James Forsythe at the point, and he took a quick shot, and Joey (Lencewicz) was in front, and he redirected the puck by the goalie, and that of course was a huge goal."
With just under five minutes to play, that momentum goal put the game within reach for the Lancers, who were one shot away from tying the Eagles. As another power-play opportunity arose within the final two minutes of the game, Gilmour's Spencer Antunez rebounded a shot into the net for the 2-2 equalizer.
At that point, Malloy felt like the momentum would carry the Lancers into the state finals, he said. "The kids were ecstatic at the point," he said. "There wasn't much time left on the clock, and we were going into overtime."
During the first two periods, the Lancers couldn't get any consistent flow going, Malloy said. "We just weren't playing our skating game."
In the second period, Gilmour was able to kill two penalty situations, which helped the Lancers out, Malloy said.
"We got a little energy from killing the penalties. Instead of being down 3- or 4-nothing, we were still down 2-nothing. And so by the end of the second period, the kids were feeling better. They were getting their legs under them. They realized it was just like any other game. I think in the beginning they were a little star struck being in the big building, playing on a stage like that," Malloy said. 'But in the third period, the kids came out, and we were back playing to what we were capable of."
Heading into overtime, the Lancers' game plan was geared toward shorter shifts and less players, Malloy said. "We told them we were going to shorten the bench, which means, instead of going with our three lines and our six defensemen, we were going with two lines and four defensemen for the first overtime and for the other guys to stay ready," he said.
With the momentum on their side, the Lancers were hoping to get a quick goal, but, as the first eight-minute overtime elapsed, it became evident that the game wasn't going to end quickly.
Headed toward the longest game in state tournament final-four history, both the Lancers and Eagles went back to their full three-line rosters in the second, third and fourth overtime periods, Malloy said.
Between every overtime period, the message remained the same, he said. "Take care of your defensive end, get the puck deep and get shots on net and look for rebounds. Look for tips," Malloy said he told his players.
Midway through the fourth overtime period, St. Edward was able to score and advance to the state finals, while the Lancers ended their season at 35-9-2. Gilmour was in good coverage when the Eagles scored the winning goal, Malloy said. St. Edward had a nice play, he said.
"It's a heartbreaking loss, and so it's hard not to feel that in the moment, but one of the things that eases the hurt is, before that loss, what a great season we had and what a bunch of wonderful young men these guys were," Malloy said. "We just came up on the short end, which is going to happen to somebody whenever you go into overtime."
The coaches always give players time to talk in the locker room after the final game of the season, Malloy said.
"You're never going to be in that locker room the same way with the same guys," he said. "They got the message that we wanted to give them, which is it's family first, wins and losses come second. If you win a lot of games and you don't come out with friendships that last a lifetime, then why are you playing a sport?"
When Gilmour players walk out of a locker room, they're walking out with their friends, and they call each other brothers, Malloy said.
"But that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt," he said.
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