Christian Pena scored twice, including a short-handed goal in the third period, and Sachem pulled away from St. Anthony’s for a 5-1 win Monday night at The Rinx – South Rink. The meeting of two unbeaten teams went to Sachem, which improved to 4-0-0-0, while St. Anthony’s, the defending Suffolk County and Long Island champions, fell to 3-1-0-0.
The first period was cagey and ended scoreless. Roman Cruz broke the deadlock with 14:15 left in the second, using his speed to get behind the defense and finish a breakaway, with Tyler Anderson assisting. St. Anthony’s answered with 6:53 remaining in the period when Patrick Darby scored unassisted on the power play, his second goal in his second varsity game.
Sachem regained the lead before intermission. With 3:30 left in the second, Pena capped a strong cycle shift with the goal that stood as the game-winner, assisted by Anderson and Cruz. Sachem held a 2-1 lead after two periods.
Pena delivered the highlight of the night with 12:48 left in the third. Killing a penalty for too many players on the ice, he scored short-handed by slipping the puck through the legs of Christopher Urso for a 3-1 lead. William Trapani, who entered with 13 points in three games, then found too much time and space on the power play and scored off a screen in front with 7:03 remaining, with Christopher Seguna assisting. Anderson finished the scoring with 24 seconds left, completing a three-point night with a goal and two assists.
Michael Walsh allowed one goal and was steady in net across all three periods for Sachem, his stick taped pink to match the Sachem student section. Those fans packed the stands in pink to support a classmate battling leukemia, and they were on their feet with the bench through the final minutes as Sachem earned a second straight regular-season win over St. Anthony’s after last year’s 6-2 result. Urso allowed five goals and took the loss.
Sachem will try to stay perfect in its next game, while St. Anthony’s looks to respond from its first loss of the season.
