GUILDERLAND — It was a game that had a lot on the line for the Guilderland hockey team. So why not put it in the hands of the Birthday Boy.

Freshman Greg Warnken scored the game-winning goal with one second left in overtime to give the Skating Dutchmen a 3-2 win over Glens Falls and Warnken more to celebrate on his 15th birthday.
"It’s a nice birthday present to get the game winner," Warnken said.
"That was huge," added Guilderland Coach John DeRubertis. "It’s bigger than just a win in an overtime game with a second left. That goal moves us up to a five seed from a six. If we lost or tied, we’d be the sixth seed. Now we are the fifth seed."

The Dutchmen will be skating with Niskayuna-Schenectady, the fourth seed, today (Thursday) in the first round of the Section II Division I playoffs. The Dutchmen avoided facing LaSalle Institute of Troy in the first round. Guilderland lost to Niskayuna-Schenectady, 5-4, earlier in the season, and was beaten handily by LaSalle earlier in the season.
"I’m pleased with the way the team performed in a game like this," DeRubertis said. "We’ve had our ups and downs. We’ve taken our beatings. The kids have been strong and they’ve kept working. We’ve beaten some solid teams."

Close games

The first period ended in a 0-0 draw, though the Dutchmen had the better play but couldn’t get a shot past Glens Falls’ goalie, Dylan Pasco.

But Pasco did not come out on the ice at Frank Messa Rink at Union College for the second period and Guilderland took advantage.

Warnken scored his first goal of the day just 58 seconds into the period. The puck was played wide of the net by Dan Dickinson and bounced off the dasher boards behind the goal and right to Warnken.

Warnken put the puck on his stick and fired a shot by Indian goalie Bryan Mulcahy, who was caught out of position.

Dickinson and senior captain John Potts were credited with assists on the goal.

The Skating Dutchmen took a 2-0 lead with 5:51 left in the middle stanza.

Jon Fogel scored on a power play as he crashed the goal and got to a rebound of a missed shot. Warnken and Potts assisted on the tally for the Dutchmen.

Glens Falls cut the lead in half with 58 seconds left in the period.

Ryan Conklin scored on a power play with assists from Dan LaNoir and Mike Blair.

The Indians tied the game with 5:50 left in the third and final period.

Blair got the tally on an assist from Jeff Diamond.

Neither team scored in the rest of regulation, even though Guilderland, to preserve the tie, had to kill off a penalty in the final 30 seconds — and did so with a big glove save by Brendan Glennon.

Overtime

In the overtime period, the teams played evenly for the first four minutes but a Glens Falls penalty left the Indians short-handed. The Indians killed off the penalty but there were only two seconds left when Warnken got the loose puck and went on a breakaway.

He skated down the left side and backhanded a shot into the net and, by the time he circled around the back of the net, he was mobbed by his teammates.
"I knew I was going to score, once I got the puck," Warnken said. "I saw the net. I tried this move once before; tonight it worked."

Glennon made 29 saves for the Dutchmen and Mulcahy made 25 for Glens Falls in the final two periods and overtime. Pasco made 24 saves in the first period.

The win gave the Dutchmen a 10-13 overall record and a 9-6 record in the Capital District High School Hockey League. They earned 12 points in the league, tied with Colonie-Shaker. But Guilderland beat Shaker-Colonie twice during the season to get the tie-breaker.

The win also ended a three-game losing streak for the Dutchmen. All three losses were by large margins.
"Queensbury and Shenendehowa gave us a beating," DeRubertis said. "We want to win a game in sectionals. We wanted to come back and be able to take the higher seed. Everybody wants Nisky. But we have to be careful and bring focus to the game. It was a 4-4 game and one with less than a minute left. It’s a game we can compete in. LaSalle beat us 7-2."

The Dutch lost by scores of 10-0 to Queensbury and 10-2 to Shen. Guilderland had two wins over Saratoga and two more over Shaker-Colonie. They also beat Mohonasen-Schalmont, South Glens Falls, and Bethlehem, twice.

Potts was named to the Division I All-star First Team. Jeff Geisendorffer and Ben Fogel were named CDHSHL Honorable Mention All-stars.
"We were picked to finish dead last for Division I," DeRubertis said. "We finished 9-6, and that’s quite an accomplishment. It was a rally cry for us to not finish last. Anybody would be surprised that we are in sectionals with a .600 winning percentage with our record. No one picked us."