This beating is military (Albany Academy @ LaSalle, 2/9/19)

"Revenge is a dish best served cold".

Last month, Albany Academy defeated LaSalle, 6-4, as they resumed one of the classic sports rivalries in Section II hockey. As LaSalle honored their seniors tonight, the mission at hand was to extract some payback.

The speakers were cranked to not 11, a la Spinal Tap, but to 12, just like they do when they play basketball at LaSalle. Two students played the National Anthem on guitars to warm up the nearly full house at Conway Arena.

And, then, LaSalle got down to business.

41 seconds into the game, senior sharpshooter Sebastian Geiger put the hosts on the board, beating Academy netminder Dan Guy. Late in the first period, Anthony Sericolo evened the game for Academy, beating Leo Paul, and the score remained tied into the first intermission.

In the second period, Geiger added to his scoring counter with his second of the game, a laser shot that went top shelf on Guy, and put LaSalle up for good. In the third period, Brendan Witte netted his second goal of the season, Geiger completed his hat trick, and Taylor Nitz tacked one on for good measure. In between, Connor Momrow tried to bring Academy back, but it was too late.

Just when it looked like they would play the game clean as a whistle, with no penalties through two periods, things got chippy in the third period. Academy's Blake Van Epps was cited for a post-whistle unsportsmanlike conduct that ended his night. Momrow's goal came just seconds after LaSalle's Jagger Sessa was sent to the sin bin for slashing. Well, sooner or later, there will be a clean game.

LaSalle evened the season series at a game each with the 5-2 win. With the loss, Academy drops back to third place in the CDHSHL behind regular season champion Bethlehem, which ended their season with a 2-2 draw against Burnt Hills on Friday. Academy ends its season Wednesday at Queensbury, while LaSalle will also be in the north country to end their season, Tuesday at Adirondack.