Pirates rally for 6-2 win over Millburn
By: Justin Feil
The West Windsor-Plainsboro High South hockey team saw its season flash before its eyes Wednesday.
Down, 2-0, after the first period to Millburn and 2-1 after two sluggish periods, the Pirates had the sort of awakening that normally comes from four cups of coffee or a case of Jolt cola. This one came from a mid-period talk.
"Basically what I said was it’s about heart and emotion," remembered Pirate co-captain Adam Perry. "If we want to keep going, we had to come out more inspired. We were playing flat and this (2-1 deficit) was the result. I said I wasn’t ready for it to be over."
It looked like a different team in the third period. Tyler Boyle found Jimmy Ferriter for a goal with 12:39 to play to tie the score, 2-2. Then, with 10:03 to go, Perry got the go-ahead goal off an assist from Steve Kim and Jimmy Ferriter. The Pirates would add three more goals from Chris Herbert, Todd MacLennan and Kim before it was over. With the 6-2 win, WW-PS advanced to face the No. 1 public school seed, Toms River North, 6 p.m. tonight at Toms River.
"It’s a big game," said WW-PS head coach Brian McGurney, whose 16th-seeded team improved to 19-3-1. "I said before, you play great games against great teams. At this point, there are only good teams left. They’re the No. 1 ranked team. They didn’t get to be No. 1 by being bad. We’re ready."
WW-PS didn’t look ready Wednesday, but it might have been understandable. The Pirates dropped an emotional decision, 3-1, Monday to Notre Dame in the Mercer County Tournament final. More than that, there was some confusion as to whether they had lost Perry, who was given a game misconduct for a check in the back. But when all the dust settled, the senior forward was cleared by the state to play against Millburn, the state’s 17th seed.
"Adam’s been coming up big all season, as have Tyler and Todd MacLennan," said McGurney, who is in his second year at the WW-PS helm. "David Suslak played out of his mind and we got a big goal from Chris Herbert. After Monday’s game, everyone was down, but that’s expected.
"I think you can judge a team’s character on how they come back. We’ve played three very good teams in a row and done well. I don’t see any reason why that will stop."
Toms River North won its first state tournament game, 8-0, over Wayne Valley on Tuesday. The Pirates, however, take strength from knowing that they just knocked off Hun in the MCT semifinal and Hun was able to stay with Toms River. Still, they know it will take a stronger overall effort for all three periods than they got Wednesday.
"That’s what we’ve said," Perry agreed. "We can’t start off like this against Toms River like we did or it will be over. We’ve handled our own against good teams. They’re the No. 1 seed and they probably don’t expect a lot from us. The only thing I worry about is if we expect too much of them."
Though WW-PS outshot Millburn every period and 37-16 for the game, it was the Millers who had the more quality opportunities in the first two periods. Three times, Pirate freshman Mitch DePace was forced to stop breakaway chances. And three times he came up golden.
"The game could have been done," McGurney said. "There were two or three breakaways. I’ve said it all season long, I’d take him over any goalie in the area. He’s the best goalie out there right now."
While DePace kept them in the game, WW-PS slowly turned it up a notch. The Pirates didn’t get their first goal, however, until 4:43 remained in the second period when Mark Hassmiller scored from Mike Eisenberg.
"I didn’t expect that kind of start," McGurney said. "We were horrible those first two periods. The third period we showed what this team is made of. I’m happy with it."
Everyone contributed to the win, he noted, but in the third period, it was a senior-led attack that fought hard to ensure that Wednesday’s contest wouldn’t be the last of their high school careers. The dramatic third period that saw WW-PS score five of its six unanswered goals gives the Pirates momentum going into today’s contest.
"As long as I’ve been here, this has always been a third-period team," McGurney said. "But to just explode like that, that even surprised me a little bit. I wasn’t nervous between the second and third periods. I knew they would bounce back."
And because WW-PS did, the Pirates will play again another day, this time looking for an upset of the state’s No. 1 seed, Toms River North.