Souderton staged a dramatic third period comeback with Clay Anders scoring the gamewinner in the Indians’ 5-4 win over CR South in a Flyers Cup semifinal Thursday. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
WARWICK — It was now or never for Souderton’s Clay Anders.
Barreling down on goal with 1:18 left in Thursday’s Flyers Cup Class AA semifinal against Council Rock South, the fate of Anders’ team was right there in front of him.
“I just crashed the net like I usually do and the puck popped out to me, and I put it in,” Anders said.
The senior forward put it in off a ricochet, breaking a tie for a 5-4 victory that put his Indians into Tuesday’s championship game against Central Bucks South.
“What a game!” Souderton coach Matt Montagna said. “Our guys never panic and never back down. Defensively, they clogged us up a little bit to start the game, but we just kept doing what we do and stayed aggressive.”
The teams exchanged goals in the first period with Rock South’s Eric Higgins (Kyle Bradley assist) scoring less than two minutes into the game and Souderton’s Luke Dietterich (Connor Walsh assist) getting that goal back less than a minute later.
Forty-five seconds into the second period, Daniel Rock (Anders/Walsh assists) connected to put the Indians on top 2-1, but Justin Adams (Chad Weiner assist) knotted the score for the Golden Hawks. Souderton’s Tyler Depietro scored an unassisted goal 11:58 into the period only to watch Nick Keck (Brian McBride assist) and Bradley (Keck/Jay Jenkins assists) score back-to-back goals in the closing minutes of the period.
The Indians found themselves trailing 4-3 at the second intermission.
“I said just a few words to the guys in the locker room when we were down between periods,” Montagna said. “I basically told them we’ve come a long way together, and I said, ‘Boys, I love ya, just go out there and do what you need to do.’ And they did. These are mature guys and this is their team.”
Alex Politsky scored the equalizer 7:37 into the third period, using assists from Anders and Rock, and the stage was set for the dramatic finish.
“We kind of beat ourselves in the end,” CR South coach Joe Houk said. “When you come into the third period up by a goal, you can’t let them back in.
“On the other hand, we knew we needed more than a one-goal advantage. Being one point ahead, or even two, wasn’t going to get it done.
“We knew if we made mistakes, they were going to capitalize, and the last three goals they scored were off mistakes we made. It’s the little things you do in games that make you win or lose, and we didn’t do the good things. We didn’t cover up the puck, didn’t advance it.”
These were two evenly matched teams, but No. 4 Souderton was able to pull away by keeping its foot on the gas, ultimately outshooting the No. 8 Golden Hawks 36-24.
Keck and Bradley led CR South offensively as each tallied a goal and an assist.
Anders finished with two assists to go along with his goal. Alex Politsky had a goal and an assist.
"We knew we were going to get a goal," Anders said. "I had a pretty good feeling that we were going to score because we are a real comeback team. When we need to score, we’re going to score. It was a huge goal and probably the biggest game that I have played in ever. ... But we can't rest on our laurels. We still have another game to play, and hopefully another one after that (for the state title.)”
Souderton 5, Council Rock South 4
Council Rock South 1 3 0-4
Souderton 1 2 2-5
First-period goals: Eric Higgins (CRS) from Kyle Bradley, 1:52; Luke Dietterich (S) from Connor Walsh, 2:17.
Second-period goals: Daniel Rock (S) from Clay Anders, Connor Walsh, 0:45; Justin Adams (CRS) from Chad Weiner, 2:31; Tyler Depietro (S) unassisted, 11:58; Nick Keck (CRS) from Brian McBride, 14:08; Kyle Bradley (CRS) from Nick Keck, Jay Jenkins, 16:50.
Third-period goals: Alex Politsky (S) from Clay Anders, Daniel Rock, 7:37; Clay Anders (S) from Daniel Rock, 15:42.
Shots: CR South 25, Souderton 36.
Records: CR South (12-8-2); Souderton (17-6-2).
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