I had this one in mind to attend because I thought it could be closer than what was expected. For about 36+ minutes (note: STA still missing their scoreboard from the hurricane so no goal times are available) AH-P was able to keep it close, primarily due to a lights out game by freshman goalie Jake Marek, but in reality, there was no point in the game that I could point to that led me to believe they could pull off the upset.  Maybe if the mini-run late in the 3rd and early in the fourth had gotten it closer, but there’s still some holes to be filled in for AH-P.  For the most part they are young and they made great strides this year and definitely earned their Top 25 ranking. But STA is still a ways ahead in the all-around game and they were able to exploit the weaknesses in AH-P’s game, and that was most clearly shown in their tough ride in periods 2 & 3, where they were able to turn over AH-P on a number of clears, leading to many more offensive possessions.  AH-P star Ryan Marek was doubled and even tripled at times (remember, this is against a defense with a number of college commits) yet still managed to get some good looks at goal.  STA head coach Terry Crowley was quick to talk about how much he respected Ryan’s play after the game to me and to heap praise on him.  But none of his looks found the net and that took away a lot of AH-P’s offense. Meanwhile, the STA offense kept up the pressure all game and as the fourth rolled on they were able to take advantage of the fatigue on defense to score 6 goals in the quarter, as their offense did not commit a fourth quarter turnover.  Brock Gonzalez scored the hat trick, all in the 4th, Grant Laman put up 2G/3A, and Kevin Justice and Nick Yovino chipped in 2 goals each to pace the Raiders. I tend to call these types of wins ‘mature’ and that suited the game well.  The scoring was spread out, as 9 players put up goals for STA.  They were stingy on the faceoffs as their wing play kept AH-P freshman Dan Haimes in check statistically.  But in the end STA put more shots on goal than AH-P attempted and the cumulative effect of the game wore on to the larger final margin. STA is looking now at what should be a favored win over Stoneman Douglas, a surprise winner in District 27 over Pine Crest in OT, and a massive matchup with the SA-Oxbridge winner.  I believe, if I fully understand the sometimes Byzantine way of home games that they would host Oxbridge but travel to Saint Andrew’s, but that is subject to reinterpretation . . . anyhow, either way, it will be a heck of a way to spend a Tuesday.  Next week’s game might be moved to Thursday so stay posted for when we find out.   Since I don’t have the clock, here’s the quarter by quarter breakdown:   1st Quarter STA 1-0 – Max Schwarz finding Justice on the left wing from low right for the step down AHP 1-1 – Grant Sizemore down the right alley with the low left hand STA 2-1 – Kyle Engel taking advantage of a loose cover to unleash the low right hand shot STA 3-1 – Carson Lees winning the faceoff scrum and going down left wing, splitting two defenders for the high shot STA 4-1 – Justice finding Lama on the low right from higher up for the high left hand top corner shot STA 5-1 – Schwarz taking the Noah Smith left wing skip pass on the right wing for the left hand shot to the middle right of the cage   2nd Quarter AHP 5-2 – After the EMO ended Ethan Heim took the Zach Bitar feed as he cut to the right crease for the between the legs shot AHP 5-3 – Sizemore finished off the 4 on 3 fast break with the right hand to the low left STA 6-3 – on a late EMO, Engel finding Justice from the left wing near the middle for the right hand to the top right   3rd Quarter STA 7-3 – Laman picking off an outlet pass and going left alley and to the middle for the right hip high shot STA 8-3 – an unusual goal as long pole Sam Whitaker converted a loose ball scrum in front of the AH-P goal in one motion AHP 8-4 – Bitar and Haimes working the 2-man game behind and Bitar curling right for the top short side finish   4th Quarter AHP 8-5 – Dante Cloutier on left wing with the high bounce shot to the top right STA 9-5 – Yovino stepping down on right wing from the Laman feed from behind for the short side shot STA 10-5 – Gonzalez finishing off the 3 on 2 fast break off the faceoff win on the right crease from the Laman feed STA 11-5 – Yovino curling from the right with the left hand STA 12-5 – Gonzalez backing in from the right wing with the left hand AHP 12-6 – Cloutier from Marek on the right wing for the up top step down STA 13-6 – CJ Borodiak from Laman, as he cut down the right alley and finished off the right behind pass STA 14-6 – Gonzalez picking off the outlet pass from J. Marek all alone in front   Okay, so we have most of the brackets set, with one more game on Monday between Oak Hall and Forest High School. As always, a thank you to the American Heritage-Plantation seniors who are moving on to the next stage of their lives and we wish you well in the future!   Team Statistics   Faceoffs:  STA 15-8 Shots:  STA  46-26 Shots on Goal:  STA 31-14 Turnovers:  AHP  17-13 Penalties:  AHP  5-2   Individual Statistics   STA Grant Laman  2G/3A Brock Gonzalez  3G Kevin Justice  2G/1A Nick Yovino  2G Kyle Engel and Max Schwarz  with 1G/1A each Carson Lees, Same Whitaker and CJ Borodiak with 1G each Noah Smith  1A Ryan Leahy with 8 saves   AH-P Grant Sizemore and Dante Cloutier with 2G each Zach Bitar  1G/1A Ethan Heim  1G Ryan Marek and Dan Haimes with 1A each Jake Marek with 17 saves   Thanks to Coach Crowley and Coach Moore for talking to me before and after the game