Boys LAX: Waves take Floyd in double OT, 9-8

A back-and-forth affair turned into a battle of momentum as Riverhead beat William Floyd 9-8 in double overtime Monday afternoon.

Riverhead (7-3 Division I, 9-3 overall), desperately needing power points to assure a playoff spot for the first time in history, fell behind 2-0 to start the game. Nothing was working on offense and the defense looked sloppy.

But Riverhead refused to fold up the tent and call it a day. The Waves continued to fight, showing their true colors, proving why home field advantage is so crucial.

The ball was loose behind Riverhead’s goal as defenseman Mike Van Bommel battled for position, kicking the ball away from attackers, finally getting it into the hands of the goaltender, Alex Panagakos. Panagakos launched the ball to midfield, hitting midfielder Ryan Bitzer in stride. Bitzer faked a pass and darted toward the goal. Faking a shot, he quickly dumped it off to Paul Harron, who buried it to make the score 2-1.

It wasn’t long before the Blue Waves would answer again, as Harron found the back of the net following a spinning jump shot.

“I had to step up,” said Harron. “We had to win the game. I played with a little more intensity today.”

“The kid played with blood on his face for god sakes,” said Guadagnino of Harron.

“I always get hurt,” said Harron as Guadagnino laughed in the background.

The Blue Waves, faced with a zone for most of the game, tried to utilize more passing plays in their offense.

The next goal was evident of that philosophy as Dan Czelatka took a defender inside, leaving Ryan Hubbard wide open. Without hesitation, Hubbard, after a feed from Czelatka, let one rip from the outside right passed the goalie extending the lead to 3-2.

Getting to ground balls helped Riverhead take the lead, so it was only fitting that in the huddle before the second quarter, the Blue Waves broke it down with “Ground balls on three!”

Two minutes into the second quarter, Harron, from behind the net quickly found a slashing Keith Jefferson before he extended the lead to 4-2. Jefferson would score again following another long outlet pass by Panagakos making the score 5-2.

“Panagakos does so much for us,” said head coach Victor Guadagnino. “If we’re in trouble the ball goes to him. He’s like our quarterback. He really starts up our offense.”

But it wasn’t smooth sailing from there. The Blue Waves would surrender four consecutive goals before the half came to an end as they found themselves behind 6-5.

“We stopped being us,” Guadagnino said. “We kinda put the brake on a little bit. We started playing a little slower — you just can’t do that. You have to be a team that goes all out the entire time.”

William Floyd (3-7 Division I, 3-9 overall) is a mirror image of Riverhead making it especially tough, according to Guadagnino.

“I coached at Floyd for 10 years,” said Guadagnino. “Their assistant coach was my first captain. Their head coach was my assistant coach. What I did there, stayed there. So everything I brought here, they are still doing. It’s like you’re watching the same game. It’s all about hard work and hustle.”

Jefferson scored his third goal of the game in the third quarter to tie the game at 6-6 capitalizing off of a rebound following Bitzer’s shot which hit the post.

Bitzer would score the next goal following a timeout to take the lead 7-6. But William Floyd continued to hang around tying the game at 7-7 with eight minutes left in the third.

Floyd would score again before the third ended bringing a 8-7 lead into the fourth quarter.

“Wake up,” screamed Riverhead coaches as they sensed the game might be slipping away.

Luckily, Harron would score his third goal as he maneuvered behind the net, going from left to right, trying to shake defenders before finding an opening to tie the game at 8-8.

The score would remain tied and a four minute golden goal overtime was summoned. An impressive shot block by Panagakos toward the end of the first overtime was key in forcing double overtime. Aside from the one stop, neither team got many opportunities to score as the defense stepped up.

“That was ridiculous,” said Guadagnino referring to the save. “That kid can really play.”

Hubbard, who didn’t take many shots throughout the game, was told by coaches to start letting it fly in overtime. It would prove beneficial as he would beat the goalie on a shot from outside the crease to win the game.

“The kid who was guarding me the whole game wasn’t on me all of a sudden,” said Hubbard. “I really wanted to get out of here. It was already the second overtime.”

“I rolled back and got a step on my defender and took the shot,” said Hubbard. “It could not have ended a better way.”

Riverhead, ranked 10th before the game started, has three games remaining on its schedule, two of which are against potential playoff opponents.

“We really need to take at least one of those games to get us into the playoffs,” said Guadagnino. “We’re going to learn a lot from the next three games. One will be against the defending state champs (West Islip). We have to keep moving forward. We have a chance to make history.”

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Peter Blasl
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