HILLBOROUGH: Siegrist OT goal lifts Raiders

HHS rallies for state tournament win

By Bob Nuse, The Packet Group
   As the season goes on, Gary Biggs can see his team mature right before his eyes.
   His Hillsborough High ice hockey team trailed Manalapan, 2-0, late in the second period of Tuesday’s state tournament opener. But like they have done recently, the Raiders responded and rallied for a 3-2 overtime win.
   ”We were calm and relaxed even though we were down two goals and still down a goal going into the third period,” said Biggs, whose team improved to 10-12-4 with the win. “Between periods you couldn’t tell we were down. The kids were upbeat.”
   Trailing 2-0 in the second period, Mike McGrath scored with less than five minutes left in the period to pull the Raiders within one. In the third period, Beuk Forrest scored on a penalty shot with just under six minutes left to tie the game. That set the stage for overtime, where Reid Siegrist scored off assists from Forrest and Ryan Oeckinghaus.
   With the win, the 16th-seeded Raiders advance to face top-seeded Randolph in the A Division second round today at 6:30 at Mennen Arena.
   ”When they scored first we told them we needed one to tie or win anyway,” Biggs said. “When we were down 2-0 I reminded them there was a lot of hockey to be played. Early in the year we would lose a game like this. But our team has matured.
   ”We came in two weeks ago and we didn’t even know if we would be in the state tournament. The kids never stopped working. They stayed positive and we knew our opportunities would come. We had opportunities tonight even though we were down 2-0. We kept going. We have been relentless and it paid off in overtime.”
   A loss to Pingry in late January put the Raiders in some must-win situations just to make the state tournament. Now that they’re in, they are showing their toughness.
   ”Since Pingry we have been playing playoff hockey,” Biggs said. “We’ve been on the fence for not being in states. The kids are battled tested. Manalapan probably hasn’t seen playoff hockey like us. We have played a tough schedule which has us ready for these games.
   ”The seniors have been stepping up and leading by example. Today was a complete team effort. We rolled three lines out there and our top four defensemen played solid. Reid scored the game-winner from Beuk. We started the OT on a power play and that has been our bread and butter. I told the guys we have to capitalize and not panic with the puck. It only took 53 seconds and we scored.”
   Now the Raiders get to test themselves against the top seed, Randolph, which is 12-6-3.
   ”We are ready for what Randolph throws at us,” Biggs said. “The last time I was at Mennen for a game was in the state title game against Randolph in 2007. This will be my first time seeing Randolph since my high school days.”
   This time, instead of being in goal Biggs will be on the bench. With the way his team has come along, he’s confident the Raiders have a big effort in them.