Sachem's Season Ends in Quarterfinals

Trailing by one goal with 45 seconds left, Sachem had possession and an extra man opportunity, but Cody Petillo’s last-ditch diving shot went high and the Flaming Arrows’ season came to an end.

Fourth-seeded Sachem (13-4 overall) lost to fifth-seeded Connetquot, 10-9, at Fred Fusaro Alumni Stadium in the Suffolk County Class A quarterfinals Tuesday afternoon.

Connetquot (12-5) will face top-seeded West Islip in the semifinals Friday.

After a defensive standoff in the first half and the scored tied at 2 heading into the third quarter, Connetquot controlled the face-off game and possession for much of the final 30 minutes.

Each team exchanged goals off and on until it was 7-7, and then Connetquot took a three-goal lead with tallies from Mike Scalfani, John Zullo and Craig Kiernan, making it 10-7.

Brandon Gamblin, who finished with a game-high five points, scored two of his three goals at the 6:21 and 3:31 marks of the fourth quarter, respectively.

Scalfani was called for a 30 second non-releasable push in the final minute of the game. Petillo came diving on the side of Connetquot goalie Zach Oliveri, shot high and Connetquot regained possession killing the clock and the 2011 season for Sachem.

“I’m thinking we’re going to score,” said Sachem coach Jay Mauro. “Cody had the look. It wasn’t because of lack of effort. We had the look, it was man up, it was our play.”

Sachem beat Connetquot last week, 14-7, in the regular season finale, but as expected the Thunderbirds came out differently in the post-season.

“I knew that was going to be the case,” Mauro said. “I knew that wasn’t the team we’d see today.”

News & Notes

• Sachem goalie Tim Matos made a career-high 16 saves in the loss.
• Dalton Crossan ended the season with 59 goals and 13 assists for 74 points. The 59 goals are the fourth most in a single season in Sachem history. The record is 62 set by Corey Harned in 1999, followed by Luke Daquino (61, 2001) and Kieran Clark (60, 1979).
• Gamblin (50g, 17a) and Tim Lang (26g, 34a) each had more then 60 points this season.

Sachem: Brandon Gamblin (3g, 2a), Dalton Crossan (2g, 2a), Kyle Rhatigan (2g), Tim Lang (1g, 2a), Shawn Murphy (1g), Jack Gannon (1a), Paul Coppolla (1a). Saves: Tim Matos 16.

Connetquot: John Zullo (3g), Mike Scalfani (2g), Craig Kiernan (1g, 2a), Mike Pinto (1g, 1a), Steve Compitello (1g), Mike Pellegrino (1g). Saves: Zach Oliveri 10.