Tigers' hockey victorious in Glens Falls

If there is one thing that the Amherst Tigers' Hockey team can count on year after year, it's that its annual trip to Glens Falls will produce victories. Once again, the Tigers traveled to Glens Falls and once again the five-hour trip up north produced success.

"We obviously enjoy coming here," said Tigers head coach Rich Crozier. "It continues to be the highlight of our season each year, and this year was no exception."

The Tigers are 5-2-1 in Glens Falls over the past four years.

"The trip provides us with a chance to get away from the distractions of school and home and allows us to just concentrate on playing hockey," added Crozier. "Some of these players have made this trip three or four times in their careers. They've become comfortable playing here."

On Friday night, the Tigers took on the South Glens Falls Bulldogs at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The civic center is the former home rink of the American Hockey League's Adirondack Red Wings.

"It's a great facility to play a hockey game," said Crozier. "It's a lot different playing in a 10,000 seat arena compared to what we are used to at the Pepsi Center."

The Tigers got on the board first late in the first period when junior Sean Mullane picked up his second goal of the season. With less than a minute left in the period, junior Steve Mugel stole the puck from the Bulldogs defensemen and fed the puck to senior Phil Cultrara. Cultrara took a quick shot on net and Mullane banged home the rebound.

"That was a big goal for us and a backbreaker for them so late in the period," said Crozier. "That line will see a regular shift from here on out and they deserve it after the hard work they continued to show this past weekend."

Early in the second, the Tigers struck again. Senior Dan Hubbard scored the game winner when he scored one of the prettiest goals of the Tigers' season.

Fellow senior Al McQuiggan fed the puck out to senior Matt Allwes who rifled a one-timer towards the net. Hubbard batted the puck out of the air, skated by the Bulldog goalie, and shot it into the open net. Hubbard's goal gave the Tigers a commanding 2-0 lead.

"What a great play that was by Hubbard," said Crozier. "We have been in desperate need of some offensive production. We talked in the locker room about someone being a hero and Hubs answered the call. This is the third or fourth time in his career he scored a game winner for us. He's a clutch performer."

South Glens Falls got on the board in the third period but the Tigers held on for the 2-1 victory. Sophomore Sean Smith made 27 saves.

"Our team defense was strong," added Crozier. "There were some gutsy performances and after a long day, I'm proud of the 17 players that were on the ice."

On Saturday, the Tigers took on former state finalist Glens Falls High School. After a disappointing start that saw the Tigers down 2 -0 four minutes into the game, the Tigers were able to battle back.

McQuiggan scored his fourth of the season on the power play. After a good breakout, Allwes carried the puck into the zone and fed McQuiggan at the point. McQuiggan let a rocket of a shot that beat the Indians' goalie low on the glove side.

"We've been working on the power play in practice a lot lately," said Crozier. "That practice seems to be paying off as we've seen added production on special teams as of late."

Unfortunately for the Tigers, late penalty trouble ruined their chances from getting the equalizer. The Tigers lost 3-1.

"We are disappointed that we didn't give ourselves a chance late in the game," commented Crozier. "I'm not sure we got beat. We really beat ourselves."

The Tigers have another unusually long break, as they don't play another game for nine days. They take on Williamsville East at 3 p.m. on Monday, January 21 at the Pepsi Center's NHL No. 2 rink.

"The addition of Clarence and Niagara Falls while great for the league, two more teams has made ice time scarce," added Crozier. The popularity of high school hockey has produced a need for more rinks in Amherst."