Salem's Mario Macari weaves through the Plymouth defense.

Rocks in KLAA South driver's seat after knocking off Wildcats, 3-2

BY ED WRIGHT
Jan. 22, 2010, 12:30 a..m.

  How do you turn the volume down on one of the loudest, most enthusiastic student cheering sections this side of Michigan State's Izzone?

  You do what Salem's Austin Sartorious did with 7:47 left in the Rocks' huge KLAA South Division hockey clash with Plymouth Friday night.

  Sartorious didn't completely mute the Wildcats' noisy, full-of-life cheering section, but he definitely lowered the decibels a few notches when he broke a 1-1 draw with a slick, single-handed play in the game's waning moments.

  The former travel hockey standout's goal proved to be the game-winner in a 3-2 Salem victory played before a massive crowd at the Plymouth Cultural Center.

  "I saw an opening along the boards, kicked the puck to my skate, skated to the middle and I got a good screen from one of my linemates," he said. "It was wide open.

  "This win was huge for us. Coming in tied with them, this should help us win the league. I know a lot of those guys. There's going to be a lot of talking on Monday."

  Salem, winners of four games in a row, improved to 8-4-3 overall and 5-1-1 in the South. Plymouth, which was ranked No. 9 in Division 1 heading into Friday's encounter, slipped to 12-3-1.

  "We have two games left and Plymouth only has one, so this was a huge win for us," reiterated Salem coach Ryan Ossenmacher. "There's still a couple more games to play, though, so anything's possible. If we want to do anything in the post-season, we're going to have to see them again in the pre-regional."

  Ossenmacher replied with a one-word answer when asked for the key to the win.

  "Goaltending," he said. "Steven Manser bailed us out on more than one occasion. They outshot us, and you could say outplayed us, but we battled and found a way to win, which is what good teams do.

  "I thought we played with a lot of energy. We need to stay out of the (penalty) box a little more, but overall, I'm happy. It was a great high school hockey game."

  Following a scoreless, tight-checking first period, Plymouth struck first when Ryan Bauer scored a power-play goal 3:50 into the second period off assists from Pat Smiatacz and Justin Bauer.

  The lead stood for about as long as an ice sculpture in 80-degree temperatures.

  With 10:59 left in the second stanza, Sartorious deposited the puck into the back of the net following a wild scramble in front of the crease to deadlock the contest. Ryan Blakey and Ryan Quigley picked up helpers.

 The game remained deadlocked until Sartorious's unassisted lamp-lighter unfolded with 7:47 to play.

  Mark McGee added some much-needed insurance just over three minutes later when he one-timed a smooth pass from Mario Macari into the back of the mesh to make it 3-1.

  McGee's goal grew in importance when Smiatacz ripped home a power-play goal with 1:29 to play to make things interesting.

  However, Manser repelled five shots over the final 89 seconds to preserve the crucial win.