By: centraljersey.com
ICE HOCKEY
Baldillo parked in ‘No Goal Zone’ against ND
Photo by Ken Weingartner
Hightstown goalie Sam Baldillo makes won of his 41 saves against Notre Dame during Monday night’s game at IceLand.
Ken Weingartner
Special Writer
Sam Baldillo was in the zone.
The Hightstown High hockey goalie dazzled the Monday night crowd at Iceland by shutting down Notre Dame for nearly the entire match. The Irish finally broke through the Baldillo wall with four minutes to play, on their way to a 2-0 win, but Baldillo’s 41-save performance was the story of the game.
"Everything he did was simply magic," Hightstown coach John Jones said. "Sam is an amazing goaltender. He plays tremendously every game. (Monday) was a level up. It was just incredible."
Baldillo has had more saves in a game than the 41 stops he registered against ND, but few performances as a whole equaled Monday’s effort.
"To go 41 out of 43 is pretty special," Baldillo said. "It’s pretty good. They started sweating at the end. We saw the frustration in their faces. That’s what you play for — competition. It’s good stuff.
"You just go out there and hope to make every save possible and hope your team comes out on top," he added. "But 2-0 is pretty respectable against (Notre Dame). That’s a good hockey team that we played."
During pregame warm-ups, Baldillo began thinking he might have a good game.
"Once you get your feet under you, you realize you’re in a good zone," he said. "You’re feeling the puck. You start feeling you can have a special day, and (Monday) was pretty special. It’s one of those things. I felt it pretty good."
Baldillo, who had 20 saves in a shutout of Nottingham for Hightstown’s only win in their first nine games, is one of just six seniors on the Rams’ 22-man roster. The roster includes nine freshmen and three sophomores.
"Our team is young, our team is very small physically, and we’ve struggled this season," Jones said. "We’re missing three of our top players (Monday). For them to come out and do what they did demonstrates a tremendous amount of heart. We can’t ask anything more from this group than what they showed.
"We had to earn either a tie or victory; we didn’t do that. But it was a victory in many other ways. Even though they lost, it was an amazing game. I’m not sorry for anything that happened today. I’m very proud of them."
Hightstown had few scoring chances against Notre Dame, but stood tough in front of Baldillo. Among the top players was senior captain Tyler Schickner.
"Tyler always plays a tremendous hockey game," Jones said. "He’s a big part of everything we do. But everyone gave it everything they had. They didn’t leave anything on the ice. That’s all we ask. Win, lose, or tie."
The Rams were hopeful Monday’s performance could lead to future success.
"Moving forward we have a tough schedule, but if we play like this we can give some teams a run for their money," Baldillo said.
As for his own future, Baldillo plans to take his talents to the U.S. Naval Academy next season.
"That’s a big commitment and I’m working toward that, also," Baldillo said. "It’s something special, in a whole different capacity. It’s all good from here."

