BY JONATHAN SKUZA
PERINTON, N.Y.– Every coach teaches his/her players that if you go to the front of the net good things will happen.
Jack Callery used those words in the most crucial moment as he scored the overtime game-winning goal with 5.8 seconds remaining to seal a 2-1 victory for McQuaid Knights over the St. Joe’s Marauders Wednesday evening.
“It feels great,” Callery stated about his game-winner. “It was a tough loss, we let them in the last game with three minutes left and then ended up tying them. It’s good to pull out a W with this one.”
“Couldn’t be happier for him,” McQuaid’s head coach Joe Dugan stated about Callery’s exciting goal. “Certainly a strong effort tonight. Couldn’t be happier for his execution on that one play, but I think he’d be the first guy to tell you that. He’s working hard and his teammates are working hard for him and things like that don’t happen without both.”
Callery’s goal was scored after he drove to the net and found a loose puck in the dying seconds of overtime and buried it to give the Knights their third straight win.
St. Joe’s was the last team to not be defeated by McQuaid as the two tied 2-2 a week and a half ago on January 28.
Wednesday’s contest proved why the two tied.
The first period was a feeling-out period as neither team was able to find the back of the net. The Knights outshot St. Joe’s 13-9 after the first 17 minutes of play. The only scoresheet action seen in the first was a late McQuaid powerplay.
The second period opened up play a little bit. St. Joe’s got on the board first under four and half minutes into the period on a unique goal. The goal was scored by Evan Becigneul who threw the puck on net from the point when McQuaid’s goaltender Rory Fitzpatrick was distracted moments after a scrum ensued in front of the Knights crease and a Marauder ended up behind Fitzpatrick.
McQuaid tied the game on the powerplay when Eli Wiegand pounced on a rebound shot from Bode Wehle and put the puck in.
“It’s something we talk about a lot,” Dugan stated about the ability to tie up the game.”You got to control the controllables. There’s nobody that is going to feel sorry for us if things don’t go our way. We’ve just got to regroup and get ready to compete on the next puck drop.”
The third period was much like the first period where the two teams were evenly matched. Both teams had five shots on net in the final period of regulation.
The Knights dominated the overtime period by controlling the puck for most of the period and outshooting the Marauders 6-1. McQuaid had a couple of grade “A” scoring chances that made the fans and on-lookers at Rochester Ice Center watch with excitement and anticipation.
Callery sent the home fans happy when he buried his overtime game-winner in a game that literally came down to the wire.
“It’s great for the group,” Dugan stated about the win. “They have worked very hard all year long. They’ve earned everything that they get. This is just another example of that.”
Fitzpatrick finished the night stopping 25 of 26 shots he faced on Wednesday. The senior goaltender recorded his 13th win of the season and 25th of his career.
“I really just can’t do it without the boys in front of me,” Fitzpatrick stated about his performance in goal. “I love each and every one of them.”
“He’s a rock,” Dugan stated about his goaltender’s performance. “He’s another guy that puts in the work. He’s earned everything he’s gotten in terms of controlling the controllables. That’s a little bit different in his position but he’s done an amazing job of that.”
McQuaid (17-1-1) will wrap up its season at home as they welcome Pittsford on February 10.
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