By John Schiano
MaxPreps.com
CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. – There may only be seven seniors on the roster this season, but the future is now for the Queensbury hockey team.
After losses to Section V teams in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association semifinals the last two seasons, the Spartans have climbed to No. 2 in the state Division 2 rankings following a successful trip to Canandaigua.
If anyone was wallowing in self pity after losses in the semifinals the last two seasons, it wasn’t apparent over the weekend during wins by scores of 4-3 vs. Canandaigua and 3-1 over Irondequoit that raised Queensbury’s record to 13-2-1.
“We definitely took a lot away from the weekend,” coach Dean Williams said. “The purpose of scheduling Section III and Section V and Section I teams is to prove we can compete throughout the state…We got beat two years ago by Canandaigua in the semifinals. We have a few guys in the locker room who were there during that time, so that was important to get that win.”
With momentum restored after a recent 1-2 stretch, the final eight regular-season games are against Section II opponents. A Feb. 4 contest against Glens Falls at the Glens Falls Civic Center shapes up as a winner-take-all for the Capital District High School Hockey League Division II championship.
“We think we have a chance to win every game,” Williams said. “We’re gaining more confidence each game and the goaltending is improving on a game-by-game basis. The guys are really stepping up. We’ve worked a ton on our defense this year, that’s really shaping up.”
That’s reflected by a 74-33 goals margin for the season. Junior Travis Marlow is 6-1 with a 1.95 goals-against average, and sophomore Dylan Hafner is close behind at 7-1-1 and 2.17.
On offense, the first line of sophomore Kevin Valenti and seniors Kevin Corbett and Kenny Hand has been devastating. Valenti and Corbett have 14 goals apiece with 12 and 14 assists, respectively. Hand’s stats line is a respectable 10-11—21.
And they’re not a collective one-trick pony. Queensbury played an at times suffocating brand of hockey in the Irondequoit game as Williams skated three lines throughout a close game, with the first line holding the puck in the offensive zone for long stretches. And the intention wasn’t solely the obvious “put the puck in the net” mantra.
“What they do is beyond just getting points,” the coach said of the first line. “They possess the puck. A lot of times we’ll put them out there and say we don’t want goals, we just want puck possession. If we can have them match up with other teams’ first lines it opens up our second line. Anthony Langevin is up close to 10 goals and he and Brian Frederick are getting good production on our second line. And the third line is producing, too.
Depth will matter in March in Utica if the Spartans make yet another trip to New York’s Frozen Four, as will experience. Besides a 59-10-3 record since the start of the 2006-07 season, the Spartans have the two recent trips to Utica and a resume this season that includes victories over No. 4 Pelham, No.7 Webster Schroeder and No. 8 Glens Falls, plus a mid-December battle with No. 3 Cazenovia that ended in a 1-1 tie.
Williams remains cautious, but he likes what he’s seeing.
“There are guys in the locker room who have seen two years of what could have been,” he said. “And last year was real close. If anything it was a motivating factor for wanting to get back to the final four.”
Basketball: Highlights and heroes
* Northport girls coach Rich Castellano chalked up his 500th victory with a 68-34 romp against Walt Whitman in a Coaches vs. Cancer doubleheader. Castellano, 500-124 in 29 seasons, will be inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame in March at Glens Falls Civic Center.
* In Section II, Schenectady outlasted Amsterdam in OT, 93-92, as senior guard Sheila Dixon rolled up 35 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Amsterdam held a 17-point lead in the second quarter.
* It’s been a brutal winter in the boys basketball world, as is evidenced by the fact that New York is already down to just a dozen unbeaten teams with just over three weeks left in the regular season.
The latest to fall was Grand Island, steamrolled by an 85-60 margin by Niagara Falls (11-0), ranked first in Class AA by the New Work State Sportswriters Association. Sophomore Kenny Stokes scored a career-high 28 points and added eight rebounds.
“It felt like the basket was as big as the whole room,” Stokes told the Niagara Gazette.
Basketball tickets on sale
The New York State Public High School Athletic Association announced that tickets are now on sale for the 32nd annual boys state basketball tournament at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
Tickets are available at the Civic Center box office or by phone at (518) 798-0202. Purchases can also be made at all Ticketmaster locations, by visiting ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745-3000 or (802) 862-5300. Ticket prices for each session are $10, and $50 for an all-sessions ticket.
Tickets for the Federation tournament March 27-29 at the Civic Center are also on sale.
Wrestling: Onondaga girl closes in on 100 wins
Onondaga senior Anna Cummings is expected to make Section III history this week by becoming the first girl to win 100 career wrestling matches. The 103-pounder is 99-64 in five varsity seasons.
Cummings is 15-10 this season, including a second-place finish at the Cazenovia Tournament. She was selected the outstanding wrestler last week after going 4-0 at the Hannibal Duals.
Football: Commitments trickling in
Canisius two-way lineman John Urschel has made an oral commitment to play football at Penn State next season and will sign his letter of intent Feb. 4. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound first-team all-state selection also considered Boston College, Stanford, Buffalo and Ivy League schools.
Meanwhile, Section II standout and fellow Class A first-team pick Bunduka Kargbo of Bishop Maginn will head down the Thruway to the University of Buffalo, where he is expected to fit it at free safety. He’s canceled planned visits to Rhode Island, where he might have also played the point for the basketball team, and Maine.
John Schiano, who has written about high school sports in western and central New York for more than 25 years, covers New York for MaxPreps. He may be reached at johnschianosports@gmail.com.
