Glens Falls trip brings Tigers’ hockey together

The Amherst Central hockey team hit the road this week and accomplished their main goal.

“The purpose of this trip is to bring the boys together as a team,” said Amherst coach Rich Crozier. “There is no doubt in my mind that we achieved that.”

While the Tigers would have liked to come home undefeated, Crozier says that a 0-1-1 record on the Glens Falls trip will suffice.

“We played two very competitive hockey games up there and I’m satisfied with the way things panned out,” he said. “While we would have loved to have come home winning both games, the trip has to be labeled an overall success again.”

Last Wednesday night, the Tigers took on Section II’s Glens Falls High School.

Although Glens Falls was a state quarterfinalist in 2005, the Tigers provided them with a very competitive hockey game.

The Tigers quickly fell to a 3-0 deficit, but roared back late in the first when junior Dan Hubbard scored his first goal of the year. Fellow junior Mike Gruttaduria found the puck and rifled a wrist shot on net. Hubbard crashed the net, picked up the rebound and slid into the open left hand side to get the Tigers on the board.

Early in the second, the Tigers struck again, cutting the Glens Falls’ lead to 3-2. Gruttaduria fed junior Zach Willett in the slot and his quick wrist shot was stopped. However, senior Chris Scummura banged home the rebound.

Glens Falls scored two more goals before Gruttaduria capped things off for the Tigers, recording his third point of the night. Gruttaduria took the puck wide on the Glens Falls’ defensemen, beating him with his speed to the outside and then let a quick shot go that went past the Glens Falls goalie’s five-hole.

“Gruttaduria played his best game of the season,” said Crozier. “He was determined to get it done. He played with grit and emotion. He was the best player on the ice.”

Despite coming up short, 5-3, the Tigers outshot their opponent, 25-23.

On Thursday afternoon, the Tigers took on South Glens Falls of Section II.

After a scoreless first and second period, the Tigers fell to a 2-0 deficit.

Scummura then scored his second in as many games on the power-play with 7:26 remaining. Senior David Moore kept in a clearing attempt by the South Glens Falls penalty killers. Moore quickly turned and rifled a quick shot on net. Scummura, similar to the night before, picked up the rebound and banged it home to make it 2-1.

“I can’t underestimate how big a goal that was for us,” said Crozier. “At that point, not a lot was going our way. We had just been stopped on a penalty shot and had some questionable calls against us. For us to fight through the adversity of that situation made the outcome much more satisfying.”

The Tigers were not finished. With 20 seconds remaining and goalie Sean Smith pulled, Moore rushed the puck into the South Glens Falls zone. He took the puck wide and slammed on the brakes. Moore then saw senior defensemen Kevin Kelley breaking towards the net. Moore quickly passed the puck to Kelley who deflected it past the South Glens Falls goalie. For Kelley, it was his first goal of the season.

“What a way to end the game,” said Crozier. “I was extremely proud of the way we battled back to tie that game. It feels like a win. This is exactly what we needed going into the second half of the season. It was a great feeling to head home with.”

The Tigers start the second half of their season at 7 p.m. Thursday against Kenmore East on the Amherst Pepsi Center’s Olympic Rink.