Baldwin pulls away for victory

Despite trailing in the opening quarter for the fifth time in the last six games, Baldwin rolled to its most lopsided victory in nearly a month last Saturday when it pulled away for a 10-3 decision over visiting Hicksville.

Senior Mike Ainbinder and junior Pat Hannon both recorded a hat trick, senior Austin Valenti added two goals, and senior Matt Hayes went 9-4 on faceoffs and scored a goal as the Bruins upped their record to 5-1 in Conference A-I and 7-4 overall.

Pat McCormick scored twice for Hicksville, which had Baldwin in what’s become a common early hole through 12 minutes. Senior goaltender Brett Dadiego made 14 saves for the Bruins, who outscored the Comets 8-1 in the second half.

“We got our transition offense going,” coach Rich Garguilo said. “Matt Hayes got us going with a goal off a faceoff, and we never gave back the momentum.”

With four opponents remaining — East Meadow, Freeport, Massapequa, and Oceanside — the win moved Baldwin a step closer to securing one of the top three seeds in the Nassau Class A playoffs, which begin May 14. Massapequa is 6-0 in conference play, leading the Bruins, Syosset and MacArthur by one game in the standings. “Not to look too far ahead, but we have a shot to finish first,” Garguilo said.

Baldwin was coming off its lone conference loss this spring, 8-5 to visiting Syosset, three days earlier. The Bruins fell behind by two goals after the opening quarter and trailed 5-1 at halftime. Outscoring the Braves 4-3 in the second half wasn’t good enough but Garguilo said he was proud of his team’s effort.

On April 19, defending county champion Farmingdale had Baldwin in a substantial 6-2 hole before a 180-degree turnaround in the second half saw the Bruins score five unanswered goals to win it, 7-6. The Dalers didn’t score in the second half, as Dadiego made 13 saves on the day, and sophomore Tyler Warner’s goal won it with 1:31 remaining. “I told them at halftime to keep playing hard and good things would happen,” Garguilo said.

Warner, Hannon and Valenti had two goals apiece, and Hayes was just as instrumental in the comeback, winning the last nine draws and 11 of 14 overall. “Matt’s established himself as one of the better faceoff guys in the conference,” Garguilo said.

The last time the Bruins enjoyed a lead after the first quarter was April 17 when they defeated Plainview-JFK, 7-4, behind Valenti’s two goals and two assists. Prior to that they fell behind South Side and Lynbrook in non-league defeats.

“The slow starts aren’t for a lack of effort,” Garguilo said. “Maybe we’ve been a little too amped up, and that’s hurt our catching and throwing. It’s great that we’ve shown ability to come back and win, but the guys understand we need to break the habit of falling behind early.”

Baldwin’s showdown with first-place Massapequa is home next Tuesday at 4:45 p.m.