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PRINCETON: Gabin steps up for PDS hockey

Senior lifts Panthers into MCT final

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   Spencer Gabin has come a long way in four seasons.
   ”Here’s a kid that didn’t play varsity as a freshman,” said PDS boys’ ice hockey head coach Scott Bertoli. “He played sparingly as a sophomore. He killed penalties last year. And then with so many people out, he was forced onto the first line this year and he did a great job.
   ”He’s not a natural goal scorer, but he got in front of the net and on the side of it and got in areas where he could score goals. He did a nice job of it.”
   Gabin scored four goals, including three for a natural hat trick in the third period to break open a tight game and give the Panthers a 5-1 win over Hamilton in the Mercer County Tournament quarterfinals.
   ”I haven’t had a game like that in high school,” Gabin said. “Maybe I had one early on in mites or squirts. It’s pretty rare to have that many in a high school game.
   ”To be frank, I was pretty lucky for most of it,” he added. “Two or three were rebounds and I was putting it into an open net. I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates. They put me in position. They weren’t beautiful goals. They were garbage goals. It was a combination of luck and being at the right place at the right time.”
   Gabin was at it again Friday. He got PDS on the board early against Hun in the MCT semifinals before the Panthers added an insurance goal in a 2-0 win. With Nick Jabs and the PDS defense not allowing a goal, Gabin’s goal stood up as the game-winner.
   ”I have to say that was a much bigger one than anything against Hamilton,” Gabin said. “Hun’s goalie, Travis (Potts), is really good so to get one by him early was huge. We are a team that plays much better with the lead. We don’t have a ton of firepower. We try to win games, 1-0 or 2-1, so to get the lead is huge. It helps build confidence and momentum.”
   The win propelled them to a second straight MCT finals appearance, where they fell to Notre Dame on Monday.
   Spencer Gabin is the Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week.
   ”It definitely was nice to get back,” Gabin said. “We made it there last year. It would have been good to win the thing. It gave us something to get back there and show we’re still a team that could compete with the best.”
   Gabin helped that cause by filling a bigger role. He knew his senior year would be different than in years past, and he responded to the challenge.
   ”We lost Clint (O’Brien) and Mike (Darrar),” Gabin said. “They were a big part of the team. Somebody had to fill the spot. I’ve been on the team since sophomore year. It was expected of me to step up and score some goals.”
   Gabin was a steady scorer on the first line this season. He wasn’t the one skating through opposing defenses, but he found his niche as a finisher around the goal and a boost to the offense.
   ”His speed was important,” Bertoli said. “He’s one of the fastest kids on the ice. He’s not the most gifted stickhandler or the most gifted offensive player, but he works hard. He’s able to stand in front of the net and on the side where he can score rebound goals.
   ”We had a good power play and he played the power play and got some goals there. He gets to the net. He’s willing to stand in there and a lot of guys shy away from it. I give him all the credit in the world for doing it. He sticks his nose in there.”
   He was happy to get some of his biggest goals at the end of the season, when it kept his senior year alive. PDS went through Hun to reach the prep final as well as the MCT final.
   ”It was really huge,” Gabin said. “Hun’s a huge rival for us. Any time we play them, it’s an intense and physical game. It’s important for us to win the series with Hun. That was the most important win because it was a single elimination game.”
   Gabin’s final goal of the season helped push the Panthers to the county championship game. It made for one of the special memories of the season.
   ”We got to the Mercer County finals and the prep finals,” Bertoli said. “Those games leading up to them, the kids will remember those. They’ll remember beating Hun. Those are close games, those are rivalries. They’re right down the street. Without those games, we don’t get to play in the championship and don’t get to play in front of our family and friends. Those are nice.”
   Gabin was just happy to be a bigger part of the climb to the title games. It made for a finish that had almost everything he was looking for in his final season at PDS.
   ”One thing I would have liked was for us to win the Mercer County Tournament,” he said. “I grew as a player and learned to fill my role, whatever it would be, each year. I can look back on it fondly even though we didn’t win.”