Sir Bills come up short against Scotia-Glenville
By BILL CAIN, The Leader-Herald
POSTED: May 14, 2008
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A halftime deficit of 4-2 was blown up to 9-2 by the end of the third quarter.
“It’s a very psychological game,” Johnstown coach Eric Laugen said. “If they’re not winning the ground balls I think it slows them down a little bit and there’s a snowball effect.”
Johnstown got first-half goals from Phil Satterlee (assisted by Steve Gifford) and John Roth (also assisted by Gifford). In the third quarter, however, the Tartan defense kept the scoresheet clean.
Tartan coach Darren VanHeusen said he knew his defense would benefit from Johnstown’s Kevin Hunt being out with a back injury.
“We gave them opportunities,” he said. “Certainly, if Johnstown had Kevin Hunt playing, the score could have been reversed. He has the ability to possess it and the ability to score and he doesn’t need a lot of room. When I saw him not suited up, I knew my defense had a much better chance.”
While his defense was shutting down the Sir Bills attack, the Tartan offense was moving well in transition. The third-quarter scoring was capped by Jason Restina’s 1-v-1 goal with 1:17 left in the period.
VanHeusen said he didn’t think the transition game was going to be the meal ticket for his team.
“We wanted to work on certain plays and certain set offenses, but guys seemed to lose focus,” he said. “We started getting our goals in transition, which isn’t what we thought we’d need to work on and it’s not an area where we’re particularly strong. I was scratching my head, wondering, ‘Do we stick with the transition, or do we go back to the set plays?’”
Johnstown started to come back in the fourth quarter. The period started with the plea from the sideline: “Sagan, we need Rambo.”
Rambo is in reference to when David Sagan gets in his tank and rolls over opponents on his way to the goal.
Sagan tallied two goals in the game, both in the fourth quarter. His first came just 43 seconds into the period, his other when there was 5:13 left in the game to pull the Sir Bills to a 9-5 deficit. Satterlee added a goal with 6:06 left to play.
Laugen said the Sir Bills needed the intangibles that Sagan brings when he’s on his game.
“You could see him pick it up at that point and put some goals in,” Laugen said. “We don’t want our players to be selfish, but every once in a while they need to get out there and do their job.”
Scott Ford made nine saves for the Sir Bills and Ethan Tinker made three saves.
Gifford scored on an assist from Satterlee before the game ended, but the Sir Bills couldn’t catch up.
Scotia-Glenville got three goals from Kevin Wentworth and two apiece from Restina and Eric Landry. Restina added an assist. Jon Zabin, Luke Perry, Matt Strenk and Steve Semo scored one goal apiece, Strenk assisted once and Perry three times. Joe Coons made eight saves.
VanHeusen said he thought the Tartans (9-5 overall, 7-2 Foothills Council) seemed down at times, stuck in late-season doldrums.
“I think the guys are just at that point in the year where they need to be pushed a little more,” he said. “It’s the 14th game of the year. They’re ready for some sort of playoff-type intensity.”
Johnstown (4-10 overall, 3-8 Foothills Council) has four games left and will use that time, as well as a break between the season and postseason, to get players back from injury and academic ineligibility, and get back into the swing of things offensively.
“We have a lot of work to do for the postseason, there’s no question about that,” he said. “Hopefully, we can get everyone eligible and healthy and be a whole team again, because working with two subs is hard on the kids.”
