GUILDERLAND — The Guilderland ice hockey team has gone on a late-season tear that has put it near the top of the Capital District High School Hockey League.

The Skating Dutchmen won three games in three days and were 5-1-1 in their last seven games. Their only loss was a non-league game going into Tuesday’s contest against Christian Brothers Academy.

The streak came to an end against CBA, but the Dutchmen are still in a great position in the league.

Guilderland beat Queensbury on Thursday night, Shaker-Colonie on Friday, and Bethlehem on Saturday.
"We’ve been playing great," said Guilderland Coach John DeRubertis. "Adam Gray has been fantastic. He certainly is one of the best goalies in the section."

Gray has been a wall in goal for the Dutchmen this season and proved it during the streak as he made 90 saves in the three games.

The Dutch have also been helped by an improving defense.
"The team is catching up with the speed of play on the varsity level," DeRubertis said. "I think the play of our defensemen has been beyond expectation. We have six defensemen but mainly four play. Three out of the four are sophomores. But they are stepping up and playing solid defense."

Quashing Queensbury

The Dutchmen started the streak with a big 4-3 win over Queensbury at Union College.

Guilderland scored four goals in the third period, including the game-winner with 27 seconds left in the contest.

Ben Fogel got the tying goal with assists from Tim Montgomery and Brian Tobin.

The goal came about a minute-and-a-half after Queensbury tied the game on a goal by Ryan Wilson.

Queensbury led, 1-0, after two periods but Guilderland tied the game early in the third.

Fogel scored with an assist from Montgomery and Aaron Cahill with 11:33 to go in the final stanza.

Queensbury took the lead on a goal by Matt Soprano, but Guilderland quickly tied the score on an unassisted tally by John Potts.

Cahill gave the Dutch the lead with 2:30 left in the game. Fogel and Montgomery assisted on the tally.

Gray made 23 saves in the contest including 11 in the third period.

Jilting the Jets

On Friday, the Dutchmen took on Shaker-Colonie at the Albany County Hockey Facility and beat the Jets, 5-1.

Guilderland got first-period goals from Cahill — unassisted — and Potts — assisted by Fogel and Montgomery.

Shaker-Colonie scored late in the first period to cut the deficit in half.

But Guilderland scored once in the second period and twice in the third period to pull out the win.

Havard Brustad, an exchange student from Finland, made the score 3-1. He was assisted by Colin Burg and Potts.

Montgomery scored both goals in the third period. His first goal was assisted by Fogel and Tobin, and his second tally was unassisted.

Gray made 27 saves for the Dutchmen in the contest.

Beating Bethlehem

The third win in a row came against rival Bethlehem for the Wooden Skate trophy. The Dutchman held on to the prize with a 4-1 win.

Guilderland jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period.

Brustad scored the first goal of the contest. His unassisted tally came 1:28 into the game.

Fogel made the score 2-0 at 5:20 into the contest. Cahill and Nick Koss assisted on the score.

Bethlehem scored in the second period. Matt Bub scored 1:33 into the period with an assist from Dan Royle.

But Dutchmen Cory Gillespie made it 3-1 with a tally about 30 seconds later. Gillespie was assisted by Kyle McKenty.

Tobin rounded out the scoring with a third-period tally. He was assisted by Potts.

Gray made a resounding 40 saves to fend off the Eagles and hold them to one goal.

Guilderland’s streak came to an end on Tuesday as CBA pounded the Dutch 6-0.

Gray continued to be a bright spot for the Skating Dutchmen. He made 27 saves for Guilderland.

Getting goals

Before Tuesday’s game, the Dutchmen were getting great goal production throughout the line-up.
"We are getting production from all three lines," DeRubertis said. "Our third line contributed against Bethlehem the other night. They are usually our penalty-killers and they have been great on the penalty kill. The other two lines have been scoring consistently."

The first line features Montgomery, Fogel, and Cahill. Potts, Brustad, and Burg are on the second line.
"Colin has stepped into a regular shift," DeRubertis said. "He certainly has a promising high-school career for hockey. He’s a gritty player for a freshman and he is playing beyond his years."

Montgomery, a senior captain, has been a big key on offense for the Dutchmen.
"Tim is coming back from a bad ankle," DeRubertis said. "He’s absolutely been a leader ever since he was on the team as an eighth-grader. I think this year, as a senior, he has been leading by example."

DeRubertis has been surprised by the way the team has played recently against league competitors. The Dutch struggled against a tough non-league schedule early in the season but have bounced back.
"I scheduled tough non-league games," DeRubertis said on Tuesday afternoon. "I knew it could make a difference in the section. We took our lumps in those games. A lot of teams, after not winning in the first nine or 10 games, could’ve gone through the motions. But we kept them aware that most of our league games were ahead of them. We did lose a couple of league games but then we beat Burnt Hills and South Glens Falls and went from there. We are now 6-2-1 and are right in the mix."

The Skating Dutchmen have garnered 13 points — two points for a league win with a team they play once and one for a team they play twice — and were tied for second place with Shenendehowa before Tuesday’s games. They are now 6-11-3 overall and 6-3-1 in the Capital District High School Hockey League.

The Dutchmen have two league games left and a non-league game against Bethlehem.

Guilderland travels to Glens Falls on Friday and hosts Shenendehowa on Feb. 11.
"When we had the win over Burnt Hills," DeRubertis said. "We didn’t say we were 1-9 overall but 1-1 in the league. And that proved to our benefit. And now we say we’re 6-2-1 and not 6-10-3. That is a big difference and the kids have the right perspective."