Sachem Defeats Defending Champions

Another Game, Another Win for Sachem

It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. The Friars may understand this better than any other team in the SCHSHL. After all, the defending champions lost three straight to open last season, before beating Ward Melville 8-0 in week four only to fall to East Islip 7-1 in week five. With last night’s 5-3 loss to Sachem in the books, they have now dropped to 2-4 on the season. So for those who think St. Anthony’s is down for the count, don’t be fooled. This is the exact spot they were in last season. On the other side, Sachem’s Thomas Konkowski suited up against the Friars for the first time in over a year. His last game against St. Anthony’s came in a 6-3 win on September 28th of 2022. The friars would avenge their defeat on December 4th of 2022, with a 5-1 over a Sachem team without Konkowski and only four skaters on the bench at any given time.

This game would go down to the wire, and you can expect both teams to remember that when they meet again on January 8th of 2024. Right off the draw it became clear that both Sachem and St. Anthony’s were treating this meeting like a playoff preview. In the opening minutes, both squads played a well structured team game which limited scoring opportunities on each side. Second year varsity goaltender, Thomas Ulmschneider, made several key saves for the Friars in the first. The LI Edge Netminder’s stellar play has been a major boon for St. Anthony’s this year. On the other side, SCHSHL rookie Michael DiGirolamo looked strong in net for Sachem. DiGirolamo spent last year with the Long Island Gulls and Sachem JV.

 It wouldn’t be until the final minute of the first when Christopher O’Hea opened the scoring on a power play goal assisted by Richard Bovich. It was the first goal of the season for Sachem’s rising star, who is among the younger second year players in the varsity division. O’Hea notched four goals and three assists last year, while playing for Alexei Nikiforov’s PAL Junior Islanders Elite Team. Sachem struck again midway through the 2nd period on a goal scored by Cameron Kalberer, which was assisted by none other than his older brother Colin Kalberer. St. Anthony’s star Louis Cutalo IV,  a former Long Island Gull who spent last season playing in Rhode Island, would put St. Anthony’s on the board with less than five minutes remaining. 

Just a few minutes later, Sachem Captain Thomas Konkowski got on the board with his first and only goal of the night assisted by Christopher O’Hea and Alp Octu. Then James Schendorf put the Friars back within one with under a minute remaining on a goal assisted by Gerard Nealon and Anthony Scorcia. Schendorf served as one of two captains for a  St. Anthony’s JV Gold team that lost in 2022-2023 SCHSHL JV Finals to Smithtown Hauppauge. Schendorf also plays for the LI Rebels alongside teammates James Aspromanti and Anthony Scorcia.

With the game 3-2 at the start of the 3rd period, Thomas Ulmschneider made an incredible first save on an odd man rush by Sachem, but was unable to stop the point blank rebound by Richard Bovich. Then Cormac Terry put the Friars back within one at the 2:26 mark in the third period, but Sachem star Michael DiGirolamo shut the door shortly thereafter. In a valiant effort to tie the game, the Friars went empty net only for Alp Octu to seal the deal and put Sachem up 5-3.

Scoring Summary:

Three Stars of the Game:

Team Insights:

Sachem: The last remaining undefeated team in the Varsity Division has looked great so far this year, but last night they looked unstoppable with five goal scorers and seven total players registering a point. Look for another strong team performance against Ward Melville on Sunday, November 5th at 7:50 PM. 

St. Anthony’s Friars: The Friars, with a record of 2 wins and 4 losses, are currently placed 7th in the Varsity league. While it was a solid outing for St. Anthony’s, the team has certainly felt the absence of Friars Captain Brady Monteleone in back to back contests. The Friars will look to get back in the win column against the West Islip Lions on Monday, October 30th at 9:40 PM.