On Saturday night the York varsity continued to hit on all cylinders, absolutely dominating the Crystal Lake South Gators in every phase of the game.  The Metro Chicago Quarterfinal game match-up was eagerly anticipated as the Gators had an impressive 22-2 Metro Central league record and were seeded #8 in the State Blackhawk Cup tournament.  York had won the Metro West league regular and playoff titles, and was seeded #9 in the Blackhawk Cup tourney.

Once the puck was dropped, the Dukes pounced, with Angelo DeSimone scoring early for a quick 1-0 lead.  Before the Gators could regroup, York’s Eric Russell shoved in a rebound for a power play goal and a 2-0 lead just 3 minutes in.  The Dukes then cranked it up another level, and when the first period was done, so were the Gators, as York exploded for 5 first period goals to take a commanding 5-1 lead.  One York fan remarked: “Steve Irwin would be smiling at the way the Dukes are handling these gators”.

As the domination continued, it was clear that York was pumped to have Brendan Smith back on the ice, after a 4 month absence due to an ACL injury and rehab.  Smith’s fast and aggressive play left little doubt he is all the way back and the senior’s presence lifted the Dukes to a level Crystal Lake could not match.

In the second period, the Dukes received excellent play from DeSimone and Mike Barabolak on some outstanding penalty kill action.  Defensemen Joe Ross and Steven Skawski broke up Gator breakaways and what few shots got to the Duke net were rejected by York’s All State goalie, Jason Kuzara (who now has a miserly 1.67 goals against average in the playoffs).  York captain Anthony Albergo drew a penalty which then led to another Eric Russell goal (his fourth of the game) and a 6-1 bulge at the end of the second.

The third period scoring was all York, as Anthony Albergo tipped in a Brad Bosworth slapshot and then Duke winger Brett Cozzi scored on a rebound chance for the 8-1 final tally.

Team Notes

Eric Russell’s playoff scoring has been lights out – scoring 12 goals in 7 playoff games, as the Russell – Albergo (Nick) – DeSimone line has been on fire.  Connor Whitting notched 3 assists and multiple York players (Shane Brooks, Smith, Cozzi, Max Carson) made great forechecks, leading to York puck dominance.