The Norsemen sprayed several shots at Old Tappan’s goalie Eric Phenix, who had shut them out in a previous meeting Dec. 23 when the Golden Knights squeaked by with a 1-0 victory.
A repeat performance looked promising as Phenix carried a shutout to the third, but minutes into the final period two Demarest goals trickled in.
The rivalry series is tied one apiece, after the Norsemen defeated the Golden Knights 2-1 in front of a raucous crowd at Mackay Park Jan. 12.
"It doesn’t make our year, but we’re huge rivals and now were tied 1-1 for the year against them," said Demarest coach David Caminiti. "In the win I thought we played well, were motivated and obviously we wanted to beat them."
It’s been a disappointing year for the two squads, who share losing records, but when these schools meet, anything goes.
The first goal came when Norsemen forward Jake Morgenstern created traffic in front of Phenix, attempting to deflect or rebound teammate Alexander Orfanos’ shot.
Phenix was able to block the shot, but was unable to secure it. This led to a mad scramble in front of the net and Morgenstern found the puck to frantically put it in.
"Initially I didn’t know I scored," said Morgenstern. "I was really surprised. We were able to take it up top at the circle and get in their zone. There was just a lot of traffic after the shot, but I’m glad I got it in."
Less than 20 seconds later, Demarest lit the lamp again as forward Jeff Poulos provided a little breathing room with a top shelf goal. The assist went to Mark Saffron and once again the ability to create traffic in front of the net was key.
The Norsemen listened to their coach at the half, were able to execute and in the end sat on the two-goal cushion.
"I told them between the periods to drive to the net, we needed to get traffic in front and not to get discouraged," said Caminiti. "If you try enough times something is bound to get through."
Each team had a different tactic on the ice. Demarest scattered shot attempts while Old Tappan tried to set up quality shots, but both teams came out hitting.
Caminiti encouraged the team by yelling, "Let’s go, move the puck" and "You gotta hit ’em hard."
Both the momentum and puck flew back and forth, as the teams squandered opportunities in a scoreless first period. It was a battle between the goalies and it looked like both were on their game.
Each goaltender seemed to top the other. Phenix gloved a Saffron breakaway shot and Demarest goalie Evan Cooper stopped all 14 Golden Knight tries.
"I took each shot attempt one at a time and I was trying to stay calm and in the zone," said Cooper.
The second period featured more hard hits, but this time around the defense for both teams stepped up to keep shooters in check and the game scoreless.
Penalties were a big factor in the game and each team had several players visit the box. The count was up to nine by the end of the second period. Neither team was able to be consistent with their scoring attack as the defenses instantly chased the forwards out of the zone.
"We worked as a team and our defense was solid to not give up many high quality shots," said Demarest defenseman A.J. Vallone. "We wanted to limit their rebound attempts."
Vallone’s partner, and biggest defender on the Norsemen team, Nick Albrecht, used his physical play to stifle any Golden Knight attempt.
"The key I tried to focus on was not to let them come down ice," said Albrecht. "I tried to stop them in neutral ice, so they wouldn’t be able to create time and space."
The second period came to a close with both goalies smothering breakaway attempts.
The teams started the third period energetically, skating up and down the ice, but the shot attempts did not result in goals.
It wasn’t until there was 10:02 left in the game that Morgenstern finally scored the game’s first goal, followed by a laser shot by Poulos.
"In between the periods our coach said we’ve got only 15 minutes left and he told us the importance of playing our rivals," said Albrecht. "We both played well, but we were able to pick up our offensive pressure."
Old Tappan did make it interesting by finally breaking down the Demarest defense.
Forward Paul Bannon was able to notch a goal to the right side in front of the diving Cooper. Forwards Sean Boylan and Eric Wright were credited with the assists.
The Golden Knights pulled their goalie with a minute left in the game and had three chances that were off the mark by inches. The crowd wildly cheered with each close call. Old Tappan out-shot Demarest in the third period 18-10, but the Norsemen were able to keep the lead.
"It was a great game and a nice effort, but they just got the bounces," said Old Tappan coach Donnie Quarles. "I thought we had chances, but we just didn’t put the puck in the net."
