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TopLaxRecruits.com, Posted 5/2/14
Staff Report
What happens when you rally from a four-goal fourth-period deficit and defeat your arch rival which also is ranked in the top 5 in every major poll?
Yes, you feel pretty good about yourselves.
“This win boosts our confidence to a whole (different) level,” said Smithtown East (N.Y.) sophomore face-off specialist Gerard Arceri about Thursday’s 11-10 thriller over Smithtown West.
Gerard Arceri (left) won 19 of 23 face-offs in Smithtown East’s win Thursday (photo for TopLaxRecruits.com)
“We now know that we have the capability to beat any team in our path.”
Freshman Bobby Burns scored with 15 seconds left off a feed from John Daniggelis as host East dealt its district rival its first defeat of the year in a Suffolk Division I game.
West (11-1 overall) is the No. 5 team in the Warrior/TopLaxRecruits Rankings. East improves to 10-2 and is tied atop the conference with West at 9-1.
Arceri, a Penn State commit, won 19 of 23 face-offs and was masterful during the comeback.
“The key really was all about the possessions,” he said, “If we were going to make a comeback against a defense that is that good, I knew I had to win as many face-offs as possible to give our team as many chances to score as possible
“Right after the win I was in shock that we just beat the number one team in the tristate and our rival that we have not beaten in four years,” Arceri added. “I could not be happier for the team.”
Arceri’s dominance at the X helped East climb back from a 9-5 deficit early in the final period. Joe Saggese (three goals) later tied the game, 9-9, with just over five minutes to play.
Matt Heldberg gave West a 10-9 lead, but Saggese converted a Brian Willetts dish to tie it with three minutes to play.
Arceri’s face-off win led to the game-winner.
Jimmy Caddigan also was a standout for East in goal, notching 11 saves.
Ryan Keenan led West with three goals.
“We need to just keep getting better every day and match that same intensity of that Smithtown West game every game for now on,” said Arceri.
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