Wallace's late goal gives St. Anthony's a title
St. Anthony's Chris Wallace makes a break towards the goal. (March 4, 2012) Credit: Dan Neri
Coming off two straight seasons of one-goal defeats in the state title game, St. Anthony's finally flipped the script and wrote the perfect ending for its made-for-Hollywood season.
After blowing a 3-1 lead and the score tied at 3 late in the third period of the CHSAA state championship game Sunday night, Friars forward Mike Marnell won a faceoff in his own end with 10 seconds left in regulation, and carried into the offensive zone. He flipped a backhanded saucer pass toward Chris Wallace at the top of the crease, and Wallace drove the puck home with a second left to give the Friars their first CHSAA state championship.
Wallace recorded a hat trick with Marnell assisting on all three goals as St. Anthony's beat St. Francis (Athol Springs), 4-3, Sunday at Nassau Coliseum.
"It was crazy," Marnell said. "I knew I had to beat the guy up the ice and just put the backhand saucer pass over to [Wallace] and he put it in. It's such a blur but it's crazy."
St. Anthony's became the first downstate team in the CHSAA to win the state title since the tournament's inception nine years ago and finished with a 21-0 record, all while remembering their late general manager, Marie Drisco, who passed away after the team's fifth game this season.
Honoring Drisco with 'Mrs. D' stickers on their helmets, the Friars played inspired hockey.
"We were hoping this would be a year that we'd finish strong and keep [Drisco's] memories alive," coach Jeff Stelmok said. "We talk about it all the time, 'go win one for Mrs. D.' "
After going down 1-0, Marnell fed Wallace for two goals to make it 2-1. Christian Habberstad scored with 4:54 left in the first to give St. Anthony's a 3-1 lead at the first intermission.
St. Francis tied it on a goal by Brendan McCabe midway through the second and another by Tyler McTigue in the third.
In the NYSCSH club tournament, Long Beach won its second consecutive Small School Division championship, beating Cleve-Hill JFK, 5-0, at Long Beach. Massapequa defeated Lancaster, 3-1, to win the Large School title in Amherst, and Oceanside fell to Iroquois-Alden in the Open Division championship game, 3-2, in Jamestown. In the NYSAHA tournament, Connetquot-Sayville lost, 3-1, to Arlington in the title game.
