In what might very well be a preview of the first round of the FHSAA playoffs, Vero Beach upset #1 Jupiter 8-7 on Winton Roschach’s fast break goal with 25 seconds left in the game.  It was a game with a lot of ebb and flow, and a lot of subplots.  But in the end it was mostly two things: Vero Beach showing that they have what it takes to make a playoff run and Jupiter being shown that they will truly have to earn their way through the rest of the season now that they are the hunted.  The game was played through a steady rain that got a little heavy at times and it definitely reared it’s ugly head at times as passing became tenuous and footing suspect.  But one of the littlest players on the field was affected the least, as Roschach was able to maneuver against the normally impenetrable Jupiter back three, as he utilized his agility and quickness to keep Jupiter off-balance, putting up a 3G/1A gem.  The winning goal was partly a result of the rain as Jupiter long pole Braylen Sampson, while looking for an outlet pass in the offensive zone after a takeaway, had the pass get away as he tried a cross-field pass, leading to the final rush.  On a dry day the ball doesn’t come off the cross that way. Another under-the-radar hero for the Vero win was Ticer Pfeifer, who went 6 for 8 on face-offs in the second half, keeping Jupiter’s second-half comeback in check.  Jupiter certainly showed some rust in the first half after coming off spring break and combined with Vero’s playing a very smart game offensively (fast breaks when available and patient possession when not) made the first half deficit Jupiter found itself difficult to climb out of.  In the end Jupiter was able to tie the game twice in the second half but never got over the hump of actually taking a second-half lead.  Vero was able to neutralize Jupiter’s top attackman, Zach Crotty, who was held to just an assist as Vero decided to let the other Jupiter players try to beat them and in the end the strategy paid off. Jupiter really hurt themselves in the first half.  Only four of their fourteen shot attempts in the half actually found the net and the second period in particular stood out, as they did not put a shot on goal in 7 attempts, with a number of those being open wing looks. Jupiter’s offense finally got untracked in the second half as they were able to find a way to get inside Vero’s defenses, which included a match-up zone much of the time.  But Vero hung tough even when they were caught, and Vero made the key play of the game when it most counted.  This was just one of those games that had to be grinded out, and the rainy atmosphere at night added to the game. In the long run the game will help both teams.  For Vero and Coach Moriarty it now shows what they can do when they play 48 minutes, which has been an issue at times this season.  For Jupiter, it shows that Coach Loftus needs his team to also play a full game as they had ascended to #1 based on a total team offensive system that helped to compensate for the two injuries to Jesse Foertmeyer and Davis Yates.  The experience the young offense has gained is invaluable for the playoffs, but since it is a young group a game like this helps keep them grounded on what they have achieved so far. Should make for an interesting first round game if it comes to that . . . With the steady rain the game started slowly offensively until 7:18 when Jupiter’s Michael Dean opened the scoring, taking Crotty’s crease feed from the right wing, placing his shot between Vero goalie’s Brad Heckman’s legs to make it 1-0.  Vero struck back with two late goals to take a 2-1 lead after one.  Roschach scored his first, unassisted at 1:33, curling from behind the right side of the goal, getting inside his cover and finishing low with the left hand.  Then with :40 left on the clock Zach Funk took Pfeifer’s feed from top left wing on the lower left wing side on a fast break, shooting past Jupiter goalie Viper Scheele left-handed on the far side to end the period.  Play was pretty even in the quarter as each team had the same four shots on goal.  Jupiter’s first-quarter face-off advantage was countered by their taking 3 penalties in the period, including one that carried over. The second period was all Vero as Jupiter did not have a shot on goal, as mentioned above.  At 8:48 Austin Dupuis scored unassisted, on a right wing alley dodge, as he bounced a hard shot past Scheele from about 7 yards out with the right hand.  Roschach followed up that one at 4:02, taking Funk’s pass from behind the cage after he made a back-door cut to the crease and potted the easy goal all alone in front.  Vero’s offense was very efficient in the quarter, scoring twice on the 6 attempted shots while holding Jupiter at bay. They also managed to kill 2 short-hand situations in the period. Jupiter came out in the third as if spring break was finally over.  At 9:17 Peter Cox took Alex Derrico’s feed from top right wing down low and fired from the wing, utilizing his defender as a screen.  Cox hit the far low side and it was 4-2.  At 6:13 Jupiter cut it to one on Ben White’s unassisted effort, curling from behind the left side of the net and hitting the far, low angle with a right-hand shot.  Vero bounced back with two of their own.  On EMO, at 3:35, Tyler Martin took Roschach’s cross field pass and fired a left wing, 10-yard bounce shot that skipped by Scheele to make it 5-3.  Then at 1:56 the lead was stretched back to 3 as Martin scored unassisted, with a nice right wing alley dodge to goal line extended, cutting to the front and finishing high-to-high.  Jupiter showed their mettle by getting both back before the period ended.  Just 17 seconds later, Sean Denes took advantage of a Vero penalty to score on EMO, taking White’s feed from behind the cage to the crease and Denes finished all alone.  Then with :47 on the clock Dean timed his cut perfectly from the right side and White found him from left GLE for Dean to one-time it and the lead was now 6-5 to going to the fourth.  Jupiter had rallied by scoring four goals on only five shot attempts as they showed far more patience in running their offense in the period. At 9:35 of the fourth Jupiter completed their comeback on Jake Steiger’s unassisted goal, firing far side low after a right alley dodge from about 8 yards out and it was tied at 6.  At 6:16 Vero took the lead back, as Funk converted on a 2 on 1 fast break off a Jupiter turnover near the center line, placing a bounce shot between the legs from the right side.  Jupiter tied the game back up at 7 as Steiger scored again, this time following a Vero penalty as he replicated Dean’s one-timer on Denes’ feed from behind the cage, setting up the dramatic ending.  Roschach took a fast break feed on the right wing and was able to work his way to the middle before beating Scheele with a bounce shot with 25 seconds left.  Vero won the next faceoff but Roschach was called for an equipment issue with possession and Jupiter had one last opportunity, but the last alley dodge attempt resulted in a shot wide and the Vero bench and fans exploded with the final whistle. Once again kids, thanks for putting on quite a show!  Even under the elements a game played hard and fast, with last minute fireworks.  Doesn’t get much better than that. Except for one little thing . . . Coach M – PLEASE, white numbers next year!  Pretty please . . .   Team Statistics: Faceoffs:  7 each Shots:  Jupiter 29 – Vero 32 Shots on Goal:  Jupiter 14 – Vero 18 Turnovers:  Jupiter 17 – Vero 18 Penalties:  jupiter 8 – Vero 7 Those team stats pretty much mirror the game . . .   Individual Statistics:   Vero Winton Roschach  3G/1A Zach Funk  2G/1A Tyler Martin  2G Austin Dupuis  1G Ticer Pfeifer  1A   Jupiter Ben White  1G/2A Michael Dean and Jake Steiger  2G each Sean Denes  1G/1A Peter Cox  1G Zach Crotty  1A   Viper Scheele with 10 saves and Brad Heckman with 7 saves   Thanks to Coaches Moriarty and Loftus for talking to me before and after the game.  Remember Jon, WHITE numbers. Jupiter returns to action on Wednesday as they host Benjamin in the annual local derby, this time with District seeding on the line. Vero returns home to host Pine Crest on Friday.