Blue Streaks Face True Tests This Weekend

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Blue Streaks head into this weekend’s games against Section I teams after winning their first Capital District High School Hockey League game since December 20. The Blue Streaks (4-0-3 CDHSHL, 7-2-3 overall) overcame a 1-0 deficit heading into the second period and refused to end another league game in a tie, like they did on the road against Bethlehem, January 10, and Glens Falls on January 3. A dominant third period against Christian Brothers Academy on Wednesday night, which included Drew Patterson’s efforts and go-ahead goal three minutes into the period, proved to be the difference. JT Rafferty found the back of the net to seal the deal after CBA (1-5, 4-7) pulled its goalie, as the Blue Streaks won, 3-1, at the Weibel Ave. Rink. Rafferty, a junior and leading goal scorer (11) on the team, has emerged as a leader for this season’s Blue Streaks, said head coach Dave Torres. “JT Rafferty is really stepping up right now, becoming a team leader,” Torres said. “He wants to be on the ice all the time and he’s pretty much the go-to guy for me right now. If I need somebody in penalties or the power play, he’s the guy I go to.” The Blue Streaks gave Saratoga Central Catholic transfer Tom Fornabia his first start in net Wednesday, but expect Danny Hobbs to be the starting goalie tonight against state-ranked Suffern at the Sport-O-Rama in Monsey. “We just wanted to give the kid (Fornabia, sophomore) a chance to play and reward him for playing well,” Torres said. “I’m confident in my goalies and confident enough to start any of them. Hobbs will start Friday at Suffern and hopefully he’ll be our man the rest of the year.” Despite heading into Wednesday night’s game with two ties and a loss in their last four matchups, Torres is happy with where the team is at and how they performed against CBA. “We can improve every game,” Torres said. “I think the intensity was there (Wednesday) and we played with some real heart, which showed. Everyone contributed and played our style hockey. These guys are realizing that we do have a target on our backs, we are New York State defending champions and people want to play their best game against us. They want to take us down and some teams have been successful doing it, but we’ve been lucky to get out of some games with ties. We have to look at the positives and move on.” The Blue Streaks go on the ice against Division 1 Suffern (Section I), who U.S. High School Hockey has ranked No. 2 in the state as of Wednesday with a 10-1-0 overall record, tonight. On Saturday, Saratoga Springs continues the stretch of opportune statement games against Section I’s Pelham (8-2-1), who is ranked No. 6 in Division 2. Playing against state-ranked competition will give the defending state champions a better idea of where they stand. “They’re going to be two tough games and Suffern is really a gauge to where we are in the season,” Torres said. “We like to use this tournament this time of year to gauge where we are and what improvements we need to make and how we fare against the top teams in the state, so we’re looking forward to that challenge.” Torres said the success of this team will start with defense first and an intensity to go 45 minutes of the game with not letting the intensity level drop. “You can’t give up a shift,” he said. “You have to play hard every single shift of the game and at the end hopefully good things will happen when you give that kind of effort.” Another key for the Blue Streaks is the return of Devin Coffey, who broke his hand in the Shenendehowa tie and was cleared to play again on Tuesday. Coffey returned against CBA and is a welcomed back impact player. “That was a big boost for our team,” Torres said. “He was a leading scorer when he got injured. (Co-captain) Matt Klingbeil is still out. We got hit with the injury bug, but some kids are stepping it up—kids like Zach Guzi and some other guys have just stepped up and taken advantage of their opportunities and that’s a good thing…These kids are pretty resilient. They bounce right back. It was great to have [Coffey] on the ice and he gave us some positive energy. That’s what we need right now.” With the win Wednesday, the Blue Streaks remain undefeated against Section II opponents.