Wantagh/Seaford hockey team advances to semifinals

Freshman forward Kyle Fagan got a call from his mom early Sunday morning with the news that he'd been drafted: No. 3 Wantagh/Seaford's regular goalie was snowed in in Colorado and the team's backup was in Canada watching the Olympics, so Fagan would have to man the net. The only problem was that he hadn't played goalie since a few games in seventh grade.

"I just wanted to keep the game close and not blow it for my team," he said.

Last night, Fagan was handed the game puck after the Baymen's 7-5 win over No. 6 Lynbrook in the quarterfinals of the Nassau Michelino Division playoffs at the Oyster Bay Ice Skating Center.

Wantagh/Seaford plays at No. 2 Massapequa (14-4-2) in a semifinal at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow.

Billy Kempner had two goals and three assists, Andrew Friedman had four assists and Mickey Wallace scored twice for the Baymen (14-4-3). Kyle Zelanka and Jonathan Kaszuba each had a goal and an assist for Lynbrook (6-14-1).

"Every year has a story and this one starts with a kid who's not even a backup goalie stepping up big for the team," Kempner said. "It's probably the most clutch performance we've had in my four years."

In each of Kempner's three previous seasons, the story ended the same: with the Baymen as county champions. But this time the road seemed a bit more perilous.

"Throughout the day I was a little bit nervous, but the butterflies went away right when we got out there," he said. "I knew that we could score because that's what we do, we go out and score. But we do what we have to do to win every day."

The Baymen's offense was aggressive from the get-go, applying pressure and maintaining possession in order to give Fagan time to adjust to his new role. For his part, Fagan was grateful. "Getting shot at with really hard pucks can be pretty nerve-racking," he said.

The Baymen constantly challenged the Lynbrook defense early in the game, with Wallace scoring twice in just over a minute, sandwiching Wantagh/Seaford's first two goals around a Zelanka shot at 7:53 that briefly tied the score at 1 for Lynbrook.

Sean Brolly and Kempner each added a goal in the first period to extend the lead to 4-1.

Lynbrook seemed to find its stroke in the second, and Kaszuba's goal at 5:17 made the score 5-3.

"The key for us is to play with a lead," Lynbrook coach Kerry Zelenka said before the game. "We need to get a lead and put the other team on its heels a bit, put pressure on them."

But Lynbrook couldn't get closer than a two-goal deficit, and Wantagh/Seaford turned Lynbrook's strategy on its head, ultimately capitalizing on their depth and experience.

"We knew if we kept it to a three-goal lead we'd be fine," Kempner said. "We stood our ground."