Recap for games of March 4 & 5

New line wins

it at blue line

Playing defense, Romano’s

slap shot from just inside the

o-zone wins it in OT Sunday

Sunday is usually the more forgettable game for the New York Junior Bobcats. But last weekend, after a 6-2 Saturday-night loss to the New Jersey Rockets that coach Aleksey Nikiforov called their worst game of the season, the Bobcats got back on track Sunday with a 6-5 overtime win.

On the ice with usual forward Oscar Von Sydow as defensemen, Tony Romano scored 2:51 into overtime as the Bobcats (34-4-2) clinched the AJHL’s regular-season crown and the top seed for the playoffs with a 6-5 victory. Romano picked up the puck on the right-side boards in the neutral zone, raced across the blue line and immediately fired a slap shot inside the far post and underneath the crossbar for his fourth game-winner of the season.

“The goalie was just frozen,” Nikiforov said of New Jersey’s Ryan DeCeuster, who had stopped 41 of 43 shots to earn the win a night earlier. “He didn’t expect it. Anything he did to react, it was too late.”

It was all part of a three-point (two goals, one assist) performance for Romano that extended his team-leading scoring streak to 12 games. Forward Patrick Moriarty, who assisted Romano’s first goal on the power play to give the Bobcats a 4-2 lead 11:19 into the third period, extended his own point-scoring streak to 10 games.

“It’s a good time for Moriarty,” Nikiforov said. “Right now, I think he plays more solid, with more belief in himself. He believes he can do it much, much better.”

The Bobcats must maintain their belief in themselves despite some sloppy performances the last two weeks. They travel to Aston, Penn. for their final two regular-season games against the Philadelphia Little Flyers on Saturday, March 11 at 6 p.m. and Sunday, March 12 at 10:10 a.m.

Although the Bobcats still have work to do—they return to The Rinx in Hauppauge for the AJHL playoffs on Saturday, March 18 at 8:10 p.m. and Sunday, March 19 at 10:10 a.m.—Nikiforov said the regular-season league title is a great accomplishment for a Bobcats team that is composed mainly of first-year junior elite players.

“The main thing is we won the league championship. We played 42 games with a young team and we won. That’s what it’s all about,” he said. “It more shows what you’re team is right now.”

The Rockets’ competitive play showed that they are hungry to make the playoffs, as they are currently battling for the eighth and final playoff spot, a point behind Portland and four points ahead of ninth-place Washington. They took a 3-0 lead 12:54 into the game, chasing Bobcats starting goalie Doug Danzi, and never looked back. Von Sydow totaled a goal and an assist and Romano two assists—including a set-up of a Moriarty goal that gets the Bobcats within 5-2 with 18:28 left—but it was too little, too late.

On Sunday, the Bobcats led 5-3 after Matt Mangene converted assists from Stephen Schultz and Romano with 4:51 left, but the Rockets scored twice in the final 4:29 to send it to overtime. Schultz (1G, 2A), Jarrett Gold (3A), Angelo Vrachnas (1G, 1A) and Mangene (1G, 1A) each had multiple-point games, while goalie Evan Hyndman improved to 22-2-3 on the season by stopping 32 of 37 shots.

The final weekend of the regular season will be a proving ground for some of the players seeking more important playing time in the playoffs. Nikiforov said he is expecting more passionate performances from his players.

“If you love this game, you should play it with love, not like you’re just doing your duty,” the coach said. “If you’re doing it like it’s your duty, it’s just time to stop. And if you’re afraid, it’s another story. But right now, if you’re not playing the game with love, someone will take your spot.”

      GAME 1: SATURDAY, MARCH 4

                                 1    2    3    FINAL

N.J. Rockets              4    1    1       6

N.Y. BOBCATS          1    0    1       2

Goals – NYB: Von Sydow (assisted by Romano; 13:28 1st), Moriarty (Romano, Von Sydow; 1:32 3rd); NJR: Smith (Geraci; 9:32 1st, SH), Del Mauro (unassisted; 12:23 1st, PP), Kaufman (Volkov, J. Carlson; 12:54 1st), Gaffney (Geraci; 17:13 1st, PP), Vanderbeek (Cacciotti; 18:51 2nd), Geraci (Callen; 5:00 3rd). Saves – NYB: Danzi 7 (10 shots, 13 minutes), Hyndman 27 (30 shots, 47 minutes); NJR: DeCeuster 41 (43 shots, 60 minutes).

      GAME 2: SUNDAY, MARCH 5

                              1    2    3   OT   FINAL

N.J. Rockets           0    3    2    0       5

N.Y. BOBCATS       1    2    2    1       6

Goals – NYB: Satin (Gold, Rizzo; 12:15 1st), Vrachnas (Schultz, Porpora; 3:47 2nd, PP), Schultz (Mangene, Vrachnas; 17:22 2nd), Romano (Moriarty, Gold; 11:19 3rd, PP), Mangene (Schultz, Romano; 15:09 3rd), Romano (Gold; 2:51 OT);  NJR – Vanderbeek (unassisted; 7:37 2nd, SH), Cacciotti (Gaffney, Kaufman; 11:52 2nd, PP), Galerenzo (Vanderbeek;12:17 2nd), Galerenzo (Gaffney, Smith; 15:31 3rd), Geraci (Cacciotti, O’Connell; 19:12 3rd). Saves – NYB: Hyndman 32 (37 shots, 63 minutes); NJR: DeCeuster 43 (49 shots, 63 minutes).