Coach Looks Back On The 2012 Season
The Empire State Legends took two against Minor Blue LI 495ers on Sunday, Dec. 23.
In the first game, the the Minor Legends spotted the Minor Blue LI 495ers two markers before they came alive
Adam Taddeo’s first goal of the year, late in the first period, brought them to within a goal and Anthony Filipelli’s slap shot from the slot, assisted by William Villena, knotted the game at 2-2 at 8:07, forcing the game to go into overtime.
Peter DiCeccio stopped 18 shots, but the game winner 35 seconds into OT found its mark and eluded DiCeccio. The Minor Legends did pick up an important point in the 3-2 OT loss.
In the second game, the 495ers scored three goals on the power play to tie the game at 4-4, ESL’s Sean Beatly lit the lamp with only 52 seconds left in OT to give the Legends Minors a 5-4 OT win. Beatly, who converted a Phillip Cascio pass, scored his second of the game and sixth of the season.
Jonathan Berghorn picked up the win, stopping 25. Joseph Petrizzo also added a pair and Thomas Frank had a goal and an assist to close out the scoring.
The OT win gave the Legend Minors a three-point day.
Looking back on the year
With 2012 officially in the books, the Empire State Legends end the year going in the right direction.
The Minor Legends are atop their Division with 12 points (it wasnoted they have played a few more games than their divisional rivals) and carry no worse than a .500 record.
“Mark Ferro has done an outstanding job with this team,” said Legends Elite Coach Richard Ritchie. “Of his 18 players on the roster, only one was a returnee from last year off the NY Terror Minor team in which he coached. Everyone is still in an experimental mode. The team has been in every game in which it has lost, including some in OT, and that is positive.”
In regard to the Elite/Pros, he noted that “after coming off a double win [against] the NY Terror Elites last weekend, how could I not be happy with sweeping the team that put me in the pasture after I coached them to the Conference Finals last year and helped them earn a ‘Top AIHL Organization’ honor?”
“We could have never achieved these two wins, had it not been for the 50 percent of last years NY Terror team that proved loyal and believed in me enough to follow me as well as some newcomers,” he added.
The Legend Elites managed six of 12 points the past seven days against two of the AIHL’s premier organizations.
