By Mitch Abramson
The Stanners saw two of their players take a seat because of penalties and were faced with a 6-on-3 disadvantage. Instead of turning into a shrinking violet, Molloy actually went on the offensive, scoring a goal and winning the contest 6-3 at the Ice Hutch in Mount Vernon. The Stanners, which improved to 8-3-1 in the CHSHL 'A' division, were led by sophomore Pat Brown's hat trick, senior Jimmy Shea's four points on two goals and two assists, and Brendan Tracy's goal and three assists. Farrell dropped to 4-3-1. Brown may have had the highlight of the game when he netted a goal while falling on the ice to give Molloy a 5-3 lead with 8:08 left in the third, but it was Shea who provided the game's most surprising moment. With two minutes left in the third period, Molloy's Stephen Romano went to the penalty box for throwing an elbow and teammate Jamie Spataro was given a five-minute major for high-sticking, giving Farrell a three-man advantage after pulling their goalie for the extra skater. The situation seemed to invigorate Molloy, as Shea beat the defense down the ice for a breakaway goal with 15 seconds left in the game.”We did what we had to do today,” said Shea, a senior. “Last year, we came in fifth place and missed the playoffs by one game because Farrell beat us. We wanted to send them a message and we did. We won the season series against them, 2-0.”Molloy, which won the 'B' title during the 2003-04 season, received a strong effort from senior goalie Mike Oseback, who made 22 saves including several glove saves after Farrell took a 3-2 lead midway through the second period before Molloy scored three straight goals.”I know we have an excellent team, and I knew I had to come up with some excellent saves,” Oseback said. “We knew coming into the season that we had a chance to be good.”Reach reporter Mitch Abramson by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300 Ext. 130.
