GUILDERLAND — The Guilderland ice hockey team concluded its regular season on a bit of a slide, but the Skating Dutchmen played well in a 3-0, loss to Shenendehowa.

It was the third straight loss for Guilderland, as it headed to sectional competition on Tuesday.

The Dutchmen were seeded seventh and played LaSalle Institute in Troy on Tuesday. Guilderland lost in overtime to the Cadets, 1-0.

But against Shen on Saturday, the Dutchmen’s inexperience showed at times, as they faced a tough experienced Plainsmen squad.

But Guilderland Coach John DeRubertis likes what he has seen from his team during the season. They started the campaign 0-9.
"We are truly playing different," the coach said. "We are playing the game at a higher level than the first weekend.
"Shen is a solid team as they always are," DeRubertis added. They outshot us but it was just 2-0 after two periods and, at the start of the third, we had a couple of opportunities. We put a puck in and it makes it a different game. We played a good game. That is a team we can beat."

Shen scored a goal in each period of the game. The first two were the result of power-play opportunities after Dutchmen penalties.

Ben Giannetti scored with 1:17 left in the first stanza. He was assisted by Bryan Hunter and Phil Moore. There was just one second left on the penalty when the Plainsmen scored.

Jon Tedesco made it 2-0 with 10:34 left in the second period. Andrew Cantiello and E.J. Reutemann assisted on the tally.
"The bottom line, is we need to stay out of the box," DeRubertis said. "We were a little better at that today than in the past. I would like to see us cut it down to one or two a game. I don’t think they were blatant or out of retalliation, which we’ve been known to do. They were the result of being aggressive. One the kid put his stick in to go for the puck and he tripped the kid."

Steve Caruso scored the final goal of the game for Shen. His unassisted tally came with 5:23 left in the third period.

Seniors honored

Guilderland came out aggressively on a day when eight seniors were honored before the game.

Adam Gray, Brian Clother, Brian Tobin, Cory Gillespie, John Moran, Havard Brustad, Steve Marciano, and Tim Montgomery played their final regular season home game for Guilderland.

Gray was his usual spectacular self. He has been great in goal for the Dutchmen all season — despite playing some defense for the Dutch earlier in the season — and showed he is one of the area’s best goalies.

Gray made 36 saves, — many of them difficult — to keep the Dutchmen in the game.

But the Dutch’s inexperience showed at times.
"There is no doubt we’re not the same team experience-wise," DeRubertis said. "Adam was solid in goal. He kept the puck out of the net."

Jon Fogel, Tobin, and Montgomery had good scoring opportunities to open the third period but the puck could not find the back of the net or was stopped by Shen goalie Greg Hitchko.

Hitchko made 16 saves for the Plainsmen in the contest.

Shen outshot the Dutchmen, 39-16, in the game.
"This was a good game going into sectionals," DeRubertis said on Saturday. "The pace of the game was as fast as we’ve played this year. We’ll take some positives as we start sectionals this week. This can end up helping us and we can see if we can come out with a victory."

Three losses

After going on a winning streak that put them near the top of the Capital District High School Hockey League standings, the Dutchmen lost three games in a row. Guilderland lost to Christian Brothers Academy and Glens Falls before Saturday’s loss.
"The CBA game certainly hurt," DeRubertis said. "They had hit their stride and they played terrific hockey. I think fatigue was a factor. We played three games in a row and had one day of rest. We also came into that game feeling a little too good about ourselves and they caught us sleeping and they worked for the win.
"From there, Glens Falls was a 1-0 game until they added an empty net goal," DeRubertis added. "It was just one of those games. We outshot and out-chanced them. We had some breakdowns on the bench and that certainly cost us."

The Dutch did win a non-league game against Bethlehem, 5-3, on Friday. Guilderland built a 5-1 lead before giving up a couple of power-play goals.

John Potts scored for the Dutchmen with assists from Gillespie and Marciano. Marciano scored the second goal of the game for the Dutchmen — assisted by Colin Burg.

John Fogel made the score 3-1 with an assist from Potts. Aaron Cahill scored to make it 4-1. He was assisted by Fogel and Potts.

Nick Stefani rounded out the scoring for Guilderland late in the second period. He was assisted by Potts.

Gray made 32 saves for the Dutchmen.
"This afternoon," DeRubertis said on Saturday, "the pace of the game was two levels above last night. It was a much higher level of hockey."

DeRubertis had a lot of confidence in his team as it headed into sectional play. The Dutchmen were the seventh seed and faced number-two seed, LaSalle.

Jeff Russo scored the only goal in Tuesday’s sectional contest. His tally came with 4:41 left in the extra frame and sent the Dutchmen home for the season.

Gray made 40 saves for Guilderland in the contest.
"Since the five years we’ve been in the league," DeRubertis said. "I’ve not seen a seven seed that is over .500. We have a 6-5-1 league record. I told the guys that having that record as a seven seed has not happened. That is how competitive the league is."