Nick Sobocinski’s point-blank snipe from the left dot in the 47th minute secured the Hodgson-Caravel Silver Bucs’ (9-2-0) 5-4 win over the Appoquinimink Jaguars (9-2-1) on Sunday night (Jan. 21) at the Patriot Ice Center (formerly the Pond Ice Arena) in Newark, Del.
The two-way defenceman was the recipient of a pass from Zach Landreth with 85 seconds to go in the game, and his hard wrist shot found its way under the glove hand of Vincent Paloni to break a 4-4 tie. Paloni, who relieved Dylan Hadley in net for Appoquinimink at the start of the third period, stopped 14 of 16 shots faced in defeat.
Fans were treated to a competitive and compelling event following pre-game Senior Night festivities for both teams. Appoquinimink captain Campbell Garrison accounted for the lone goal of the first period with 2:49 remaining, batting the puck over the goal line after Silver Bucs goalie Austin Himelberger had sprawled to make an initial save amid commotion in the crease. Hodgson-Caravel came back with a vengeance early in the second period, with senior Jake Woodruff putting a pair of pucks past Jaguars netminder Dylan Hadley in the first five minutes of the second period. The equalizer came at 2:27, when Woodruff tallied a short-handed goal after winning a one-on-one battle in the attacking zone, and the go-ahead goal at 4:47 was a power-play score from the left point assisted by Gavin Teresczuk.
Down 2-1 mid-period, Appoquinimink responded with two goals of their own. Robby Macoy’s backhander from the mid-slot at 10:07 trickled under Himelberger’s glove to tie the game, and Nathan Panchisin finished a gritty attacking-zone exchange a minute later with a mid-slot snipe after being fed the puck by Jonny Schwarz, the winner of a duel in the right corner after chasing down the disc.
Nick DeMarco, a presence in all three zones for the Silver Bucs, refused to let his side trail heading into the second intermission. The senior centre tapped a rebound in from on the doorstep at the 15:58 mark of the second period to tie the game at three goals a side.
It wouldn’t take the Jaguars long to reclaim the lead, as Schwarz notched an unassisted goal at 5:29 in the third period. Schwarz, the top-line centre for Appoquinimink, carried the puck into the zone from the right side while uncontested.
After his second-period assist, Teresczuk was heard from again with 4:41 left, finishing a centering pass from Woodruff in the right corner to tie the game again at four before Sobocinski’s game-winner in the penultimate minute.
Around the League
This Weekend’s Results
Friday, Jan. 19
Middletown 1, Delco II 0
Saturday, Jan. 20Middletown 12, Harrington 2
Sunday, Jan. 21
Hodgson-Caravel 5, Appoquinimink 4
DuPont-Conrad 10, Delco I 4
Next Weekend’s Games
Saturday, Jan. 27
Middletown (8-3-0) at Newark-Tatnall (9-0-1), Patriot Ice Center
Delco I (2-9-0) at Harrington (0-10-1), State Fair Centre Ice
Sunday, Jan. 28
Hodgson-Caravel (9-2-0) at Newark-Tatnall, Patriot Ice Center
DuPont-Conrad (3-6-1) at Appoquinimink (9-2-1), Patriot Ice Center
