Sachem Hockey Gets Payback on Middle Country

It was just a week ago that Sachem allowed Middle Country to capitalize on defensive breakdowns and odd-man rushes en route to a win.

Sachem learned its less nine days later, when its defense stepped up to propel the Arrows to a 5-3 victory Wednesday night at The Rinx.

"It was a good win," said head coach Tom Krammer. "We played well in our end as we did against West Islip."

Krammer attributed the focus on shutting down their offense to the success his team had on the ice. "We had guys in our end, that was the whole difference," he said. "The back-door guys weren't open like they were [last week]."

The Arrows came out with a strong forecheck, and controlled most of the play early, but could not score on Middle Country. Defenseman Chris Haun, who was praised by Krammer after the game as one of the team's best defensemen in the game, had the best chance early, when he was stopped twice on a break.

Sachem finally broke through on a goal by Mike Douros, who tapped in a crease-mouth pass for the 1-0 lead at 5:18 of the first.

Six minutes later, Tom Tirelli won a race to the puck along the near boards, and was able to slide it through the goaltender's pads to give the Arrows the 2-0 advantage.

Tirelli wasn't done. With 49.8 seconds remaining in the period, he fired a wrist-shot over the shoulder of the Cougars' netminder and off the crossbar to give Sachem the 3-0 lead heading into the second period.

Middle Country came alive in the second period, forcing Sachem to play a more defensive oriented style, one that worked 48 hours earlier against West Islip.

Sachem goaltender Brandon Bassett stood tall, and finished the game with 24 saves. His lone blemish of the second period was on a goal by Mike Cartwright, who batted the puck out of mid-air after Bassett made an initial save.

"I played better than [last week]," said Bassett, who was the goaltender against Middle Country in last week's loss. "I was happy we got the win today. We came out on fire. We played good."

Sachem was in penalty trouble late in the second period, killing off two back-to-back penalties, coming away unharmed. 

The penalties caught up to the Arrows early in the third, when Middle Country's T.J. Hall, who was held silent through the first two periods, scored just 42 seconds into the third. Hall's wrist shot beat Bassett glove side.

Sachem answered right back, when captain Harry Curran's wrist shot from the point floated into the net, giving the Arrows a4-2 lead. The goal would hold up to be the game winner.

"I missed the puck, and just kind of threw it at the net," said Curran. "The goalie had no idea it was coming."

"We had to win this game to get back up in the rankings," Curran continued. "It's a confidence builder. This is one of the best teams in the league. They have the three best players in the league."

Both teams would score one more goal a piece, including a goal by Alex Posillico, who received a pass from Tirelli, who had a chance at a hat trick, but opted for the assist instead. Hall had Middle Country's other goal.

Sachem's next game is Mon. Dec. 6 against Kings Park.