Batavia vs Notre Dame Hockey ends with 3-0 victory for Irish on Saturday afternoon
Photo courtesy of Scott G Photography
| BataviasBest.org
Sunday, December 14, 2014
In what is perhaps the most intense rivalry in all of Section V, the Batavia vs Notre Dame Hockey series got off to an exciting start yesterday afternoon. The Fighting Irish earned a 3-0 victory over the Ice Devils and did so using a solid effort between the pipes from Freshman Ethan Conrad, as well as sound play offensively from Spencer Misiak and Peter Madafferi.
Beginning the contest on Saturday the Irish scored almost immediately.
Just 1:25 into the first period, Peter Madafferi (1) lit the lamp for ND as he was able to corral a loose puck in front of the net in order to lift it just over Batavia goalie James Cryer’s blocker side. The assist was given to Bryan Moscicki, and with the early goal the Fighting Irish took a key 1-0 lead which left Batavia in need of an answer. However, unfortunately for them, despite several chances while out-shooting ND 25-19 for the game, the Ice Devils struggled to find that answer against Conrad.
Photo courtesy of Scott G Photography
As the game eased into the second period with the score remaining 1-0, Batavia started to pick up the pace on their attack.
“I thought they really out-played us during the second period,” said ND head coach Marc Staley following the game. “The shots were fairly uneven during the second, at about 11/3 in favor of Batavia.”
However, the Ice Devils remained scoreless midway through the period and that’s when the Irish struck again.
This time it was Spencer Misiak (3) breaking through for Notre Dame at the 8:49 mark of the second on a nice feed from Madafferi (1) – who earned the assist. With the goal, the Irish were now ahead 2-0 despite the vast disparity in shots during the period.
The next eight minutes would go by with Batavia continuing to find open opportunities near the net, but the quality play from the ND defense seemed unwavering.
No matter what the Ice Devils threw at their Freshman net minder, he seemed to rise to the occasion while positioning himself perfectly on several fine shots from Batavia. Although I felt their forwards lacked aggression at times while in pursuit of the puck while inside the attacking zone, the Ice Devils did do a nice job putting shots on goal which created a challenge for Conrad, but he was able to answer the bell time and time again.
Photo courtesy of Scott G Photography
With the second period coming to an end the two sides headed into the extended intermission with plenty to talk about while inside the locker room. While Staley had to have been fairly unhappy with the disparity in shots during the second period, Batavia head coach Paul Pedersen must have been searching for some way to crack Conrad’s code.
Out of the break to begin the third period things continued to go in Notre Dame’s favor.
Extending their lead almost immediately, Misiak (4) would find the back of the net once again (10:29) on a rebound to the left side of the net – while assisted by Dylan D’Alba (2) and Madafferi (2) for the second time. The goal seemingly put things away for ND, as Batavia continued to find no answers throughout the final minutes.
The game would end 3-0 ND with Conrad earning his first shutout of his Varsity career.
“Ethan played a tremendous game,” said his coach after the game. “He has been with us for three years on Varsity, and even though he is a Freshman, he plays like an upperclassman.”
In addition to the fantastic effort from their goaltender, the Irish also received a strong performance from Madafferi. With one goal and two assists on the day, the Junior forward worked his way to his first three-point day as a Varsity player while impressing his coach along the way.
“Today was the first time Peter has had three points in a game,” remarked Staley. “He seems to be coming into his own as a Junior forward. That line composed of a Senior, Junior and Sophomore did most of the scoring today.”
Spencer Misiak also put together a fine day for Notre Dame on Saturday, leading his team with two goals in order to increase his season total to four. Misiak’s two goals, primarily the second one, came on scrappy plays in front of the net and truly put things away for his team.
“We knew Batavia had a good goalie in James Cryer,” continued Staley, “And we knew we were going to have to score some junkyard dog goals around the net. I’ve tried to match lines with age and skill level because its important for us to stay fresh throughout the game.”
This showed up most during the third period.
Photo courtesy of Scott G Photography
Whereas Batavia runs two lines most of the game, the fact that ND chose to run three lines yesterday I think kept them a bit fresh during the late-going. When a team starts to play out of their system, and chooses to go one-on-one at the opposing goaltender with regularity as Batavia did down the stretch, you can tell they are beginning to tire, and in turn beginning to press. Applying the pressure felt on Batavia’s side was the quality play put forth by the ND defenseman.
“Our defense did a great job picking up sticks in front of the net and keeping things clear for Ethan,” said Staley. “You didn’t see many scrums in front of our net today. You saw a few, but Ethan saw the puck clearly for most of the night and when goalies can see it, 95% of the time they will stop it. It’s the tic-tac goals that happen so quickly which give goalie’s trouble.”
However, despite the sound performance from his goaltender, Staley commented on how, if a few bounces went a different way on Saturday, the game could have been much different. In the end, though, ND’s head coach was extremely proud of the way his team played and seems to be excited about their chances going forward into the future as well.
Photo courtesy of Scott G Photograph
“I’m excited for the program,” he concluded. “Our starting line has two Sophomores and Freshman, our second line has a Senior, a Freshman and Sophomore, and our third line is composed of a Freshman and two Sophomores as well. Next year we will lose only two players up front and two players on defense. I am excited to see how we can continue to progress.”
On Batavia’s side of things, as they await their revenge later in the season, I believe the Ice Devils need to find a way to improve upon their chemistry as an offensive unit. Failing to pass the puck with any success on Saturday afternoon, their offense relied on several one-on-one opportunities which just aren’t as favorable as those that come from moving the puck.
All in all, though, it was a fun game to watch yesterday and I am truly looking forward to the next matchup between these two teams.
With the loss Batavia moves to 0-2-1, while Notre Dame improves to 2-4-0. The Devils will face a difficult Rush-Henrietta team on Tuesday, while Notre Dame faces Greece Lightning the same day.
Stay tuned for photos from the game coming soon courtesy of Scott G Photography!!!
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Today at 3:00 pm, the first round of Batavia vs Notre Dame Hockey kicks off
