CSH tops Long Beach to continue late season surge

Cold Spring Harbor is making one last push for the playoffs.

After starting the season 3-9-1, the Seahawks extended their winning streak to four games with an impressive upset over first-place Long Beach Sunday, narrowing the gap for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Michelino Division to just three points.

Cold Spring Harbor beat Long Beach 2-1 at Iceworks behind a season-best performance from goalie John Cooleen, who made 55 saves according to coach Sean Considine. The Seahawks went ahead 2-1 early in the third, and Considine said Cooleen played “out of his mind” to hold a fully loaded Long Beach squad scoreless for the final 12:36 of the game.
    
“There was a pretty lopsided shot ratio and Cooleen just stood on his head,” Considine said.

Cold Spring Harbor struck first midway through the second period on a goal from David Melnyk, but Long Beach added one minutes later to tie the score at 1 going into the third. Brian Shea scored the eventual game-winner for the Seahawks, completing a two-on-one rush with Sean Doyle after Doyle received a chip pass off the boards from his brother William to start the play.

“Our guys listened to the game plan and didn’t give up,” Considine said. “They played 60 minutes of great hockey.”

Cold Spring Harbor (7-9-1, 15 points) faces last-place Bethpage twice in its final four games, but has Massapequa (10-3-0, 20 points) and Long Beach (11-4-0, 22 points) sandwiched in between on the schedule. Fourth-place Bellmore-Merrick (8-4-2, 18 points) has seven games still to play, including two with both Long Beach and Syosset (10-3, 20 points), and one against East Williston (10-5-2, 22 points).

Considine believes the Seahawks must win three of their four remaining games to catch up in the standings and reach the postseason.
    
“We’ve been on a run,” Considine said. “And if we come out and play the way we did against Long Beach [Sunday], I think we’ll definitely be a contender for the playoffs.”