ASTON — If seventh seeded Radnor was supposed to go quietly against second seeded Marple Newtown in the first round of the ICSHL Central League playoffs Monday, nobody told them.
In fact, the Raptors felt the pressure was squarely on the Tigers.
“No one beats anybody three times in a row,” Raptors senior Andy Zhang said. “We lost to them twice but both games were close. We knew we could beat them.”
Knowing is believing as the Raptors bounced back from an early one-goal deficit with four straight goals, two by Zhang, to secure a 4-2 decision over the Tigers at Iceworks and advance to the semifinals Wednesday against Penncrest, which defeated Haverford 3-2.
Zhang tallied the third and fourth goals for the Raptors, finding the net for the first time with a backbreaker with just two seconds left in the first period. It gave the Raptors a 3-1 lead entering the second frame.
The Raptors scored three goals on their first four shots against goalie AJ Tedesco, who allowed just one goal the rest of the game.
“Our starts aren’t great, but we bounce back pretty well,” Zhang said. “Our goalie was amazing. He kept us in the game.”
Goalie James Danner recorded a dozen saves in the first period for the Raptors, who were outshot 35-16 in the game and shelled early on.
It sure looked like it was going to be a long night for Radnor when the Tigers tallied in the first three minutes, Tyler Newby burying a pass from Zachary Dembzynski, who had two assists on the evening.
“We just couldn’t get the bounces tonight,” Tigers coach Joe McKay said. “We got the pressure. We just didn’t get any second shots or rebounds. All the shots weren’t quality shots. We’ve got to get people in front of the goalie. They got the bounces and that’s how it goes sometimes. We’ll get them in the Flyers Cup, maybe. It’s just hard to beat a team three times in a row.”
The second period was scoreless, though fast and physical. After Zhang made it 4-1 with a wrist shot on a rush up the right side with 9:36 remaining, the Tigers battled back to get back within two thanks to Ethan McKay less than a minute later.
Danner, however, wasn’t going to leave the door open for a comeback.
“They love to keep a guy backdoor and just cycle a lot,” Danner said of the Tigers. “I communicated with my defense a lot. We just adjusted to everything they did.”
Danner, calling his performance, “a solid eight” out of 10, heaped praise on his teammates.
“Our defense was really solid this game,” Danner said. “It was a team effort, and we came out on top against a really good team. This win is huge. This was one of those games that could have easily gone either way. It could have been a landslide. It was good to keep it to a low score. To win this, it gives us a lot more confidence for the next step.”
Radnor coach Donald Sucher praised Danner, Zhang and a determined group of players led by Tucker Graham, who had a power-play goal, one assist and just always seemed to be around the puck. Ryan Carr also had a power-play goal for the Raptors.
“I think we were just playing our game, playing smart,” Sucher said. “We really like to play hard and fast, and I think he played hard and fast tonight.”
Also in the Central League playoffs:
Penncrest 3, Haverford 2 >> Keane Naugle scored with eight seconds left to tie the game, then Andrew Hausch won it in overtime for the Lions.
Matt McKay also scored for Penncrest. Fiona Walker stopped 33 shots.
Caleb Dean and Ryan McGlade scored in the third period for the Fords. Dylan Viera made 27 saves.
Girls Hockey
Samantha Mitchell had a goal and an assist in the first period and added a second goal in the third of a 5-0 win for Radnor over Kingsway.
Maeve White scored twice. Ashley Van Trieste stopped all 16 shots to come her way.
