By Steve Siniski
Baldwin, which dropped its first five games in Conference A play, has rebounded and reeled off three straight victories, giving them a chance to make the post-season heading into the regular-season finale at Massapequa on May 16 at 4:30 p.m. The Chiefs (13-2 overall, 7-1 Conference A) come in fresh off a loss to Farmingdale last weekend in what was a matchup of Conference A's two unbeaten teams.
The guys realize their backs are against the wall and that the next loss means the end of the playoffs, Baldwin coach Rich Gargulio said prior to last Saturday's 11-3 win over Oceanside. Offensively, we're starting to play as a unit and you can tell the guys are buying into the system by their actions on the field."
Indeed, over the last four games, which includes a 12-11 loss to Hicksville, the Bruins have totaled 48 goals. Eric Wolf led Baldwin's scoring attack against Oceanside, netting three goals of his own and setting up three more. Co-captain Jimmy Riordan, Jared Wilson and sophomore Will Barrow each scored twice in the victory.
We still haven't done it whistle to whistle but that's going to come, Gargulio said of his Bruins putting together a complete game. And now some of our sophomores are starting to play better.
Barrow and Chris Hannon are two of the underclassmen that have been at the front of Baldwin's reversal, along with Adam Crystal and senior defenseman Brett Martello.
[Brett] Martello has been the surprise of the year for us, Gargulio said. He's been doing everything that's been asked and he's really progressed a lot this year. Adam [Crystal] too, has also bought in to what we're doing and is a very coachable player.
But what may seem surprising to some is that the Bruins have not changed much on either side of the field since losing their first five. Instead, it's been a matter of the players jelling at the right time in order to make a push for some extra games.
Our concepts, even in the zone [defense] are the same, Gargulio said of his defensive unit which has been led by one of the team's four co-captains, Tommy St. George. We just don't want anyone playing too crazy on defense and it's been noticeably better.
And on the backline, goaltender Efofa Goubidia has turned up his level of play a notch, as well. He played great against Plainview and was really the springboard to victory for us, Gargulio said of Goubidia, who stopped a season-high 23 shots in a 14-7 win on May 3.
Goubidia followed that up by allowing a total of just eight goals in the next two games -- wins over Freeport (12-5) on May 8 and the victory over Oceanside. In the decision over the Sailors, Goubidia was a wall in the first half and did not allow a goal until after intermission, stopping 12 of the 15 shots he faced overall.
