Penn Yan Secures 24th Win
May 29, 2019 - Penn Yan came back in overtime to defeat Pal-Mac 10-9 to win their 24th Sectional Title. The Mustangs trailed early in the contest before taking a one goal lead into the break. They held that lead into the fourth, when Pal-Mac scored the final two goals of regulation to force overtime. The Red Raiders had the first overtime offensive opportunity after winning the draw; however, they could not get a shot off on cage before Penn Yan got the ball upfield on an errant pass. The Mustangs scored with 0:05 left in the first overtime period with an inside dodge by Colton Smith. Smith was named to the All Tournament Team.
The game began with a strong offense from Pal-Mac. The Red Raider’s Grady Arnold scored the opener with a hard outside shot from the top that bounced past goalie Griffin Emerson. Emerson finished with 3 saves and with his standout performances in the last two rounds was named to the All Tournament Team. The Red Raiders also won the second draw and scored again two minutes later. Arnold scored again with a feed from Jake Gallina. Gallina and Arnold finished with 4g-1a and 3g-2a respectively and were both named to the All Tournament team. The Mustang’s scored their first goal with 5:36 remaining on the clock with Conner Fingar assisting Devon Gerhardt. Fingar led in scoring for Penn Yan with 3g-2a; he was also named Class D All Tournament MVP. The Red Raiders did not let up in the final minute and added two more goals before the quarter end. Arnold scored with a cross feed coming from Gallina. Gallina scored his first with a sweep along the top left. Pal-Mac led 4-1 after 12 minutes.
In the second quarter, Penn Yan outscored the Red Raiders 5-1 to take a one goal lead into halftime. Fifteen seconds into the quarter, Penn Yan scored their second goal with Fingar scoring during a face off fast-break. Neither team scored for the next seven minutes. The Mustangs scored again with 4:35 remaining with a dodge from the top to an inside feed. Chase Blumbergs scored the goal with Clay Kinyoun assisting. The lone Red Raider goal of the quarter was scored with 3:46 remaining with a close range shot from Zach Baker. Penn Yan added another three goals before halftime. Kinyoun scored the first, Fingar scored the second and assisted the third to Kinyoun. Penn Yan led 6-5 at the break.
The third quarter was the lowest scoring of the quarters with only three goals in twelve minutes. The Mustangs scored back to back goals with Smith scoring the first with a feed to the crease from Gerhardt. The second was scored on a fast-break with Fingar making a strong single player effort for the Mustangs. The final goal was scored by Pal-Mac’s Gallina (assisted by Arnold). The third quarter ended with Penn Yan leading by two (8-6).
In the fourth quarter, Pal-Mac led a strong comeback; outscoring the Mustangs 3-1 to tie the game and force overtime. Gallina scored the first with a give and go with Baker assisting. The final regulation Penn Yan goal was scored in extra-man with Smith scoring. Pal-Mac scored back to back goals 13 seconds apart to tie game. Baker and Arnold scored to bring the game to 9-9 with 6:30 remaining in the game. Both teams had chances in the final minutes, but neither could convert. In overtime, Pal-Mac won the opening draw and called a timeout. They took the ball downfield and passed around the outside with small attempts at the cage. They did not put any shots on cage, and after 2 minutes, an errant pass resulted in Penn Yan getting the ball. The Mustangs took most of the two minutes in a similar fashion, unable to put shots on the cage. With 0:05 remaining, Smith scored the game winner with an inside dodge to secure the win for the Mustangs.
The remaining All Tournament players were: Matt Mattoon (Midlakes), Seth Benedict (Marcus Whitman), Bryan Duran (Penn Yan), Mike DeSain (Pal-Mac), Jakob Day (Pal-Mac). Penn Yan moves on to the State Tournament this Saturday to face the winner of the Section Six Tournament that is being played this evening.
