By Dylan Butler
It was not shaping up to be Mike Begy's night. Sure the St. Francis Prep senior defenseman scored what he described as a “fluke” goal, but he was also on the ice when his team let up a shorthanded breakaway goal to Christ the King Monday night. The Middle Village native followed that by hitting the post with five minutes left in the third period of a 2-2 tie.
But with one minute left in the third, Begy's luck changed. Begy's wrist shot beat Christ the King goalie Chris Kalyviotis' low blocker side to put the Terriers up 3-2. Sophomore Dan McCloskey followed with an open netter with three seconds left as St. Francis Prep came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Royals 4-2 at the Ice Hutch in Mount Vernon.
“It felt good, especially after hitting the post earlier and me and my defensive partner let up the breakaway,” Begy said of his second goal of the game. “It felt good to stick it in.”
Christ the King (4-8-2 CHSHL B) scored the first two goals of the game as St. Francis Prep struggled defensively. Sophomore forward Bobby Glade scored on a shorthanded breakaway with 55 seconds left in the first on an assist from Jakub Kubrak. Glade netted his second of the game 1:22 into the second on an assist from Steve Weber and Mike Olech.
“The defense was really suspect early,” said St. Francis Prep head coach Billy Turner. “We didn't get the puck out of the zone. We kept turning it over and they converted it into good scoring chances.”
Senior forward Denny Gryz brought the Terriers to within one, 2-1, with 11:59 left in the second period.
While the Royals are much improved, head coach Pat Boller said his team usually struggles in one of the three periods. Unfortunately for him they picked the third in which to falter.
“It seems like there's a pattern, we're missing one period,” he said. “We have to realize we have to play the whole game.”
Begy scored his first goal of the game 34 seconds into the third period on a backhand from the slot. Adam Discepolo assisted on the power play goal that tied the game for St. Francis Prep (9-3-2).
“I was in the slot cutting across and I just caught the puck on my backhand and threw it at the net and it rolled in,” Begy said. “It was just pure luck.”
There was no luck involved in his second goal of the game in the final minute of the third. Breaking in on a two-on-two with McCloskey, Begy skated right and sent a sharp angle wrist shot that sailed across Kalyviotis' body before hitting the back of the net. Steve Cameran assisted on the goal.
“I had a full head of steam and saw the inside of the post and I just went for it,” Begy said. “[Kalyviotis] was coming to his left and I think he thought I was going to go glove because we were peppering his glove.”
Christ the King 9, McClancy 1. Led by Weber's hat trick, the Royals defeated McClancy at Abe Stark Arena on Coney Island Saturday night. Billy Murphy had two goals and an assist, Sal Croce had a goal and two assists, Vinny Dove had a goal and an assist and Olech added a goal and two assists. Kubrak had two assists and Alex Douglas added two assists. Sandro Pardo scored the Crusades' lone goal.
