HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY: FINAL - Gardiner 4, John Bapst 3
FINAL: Forrest Chadwick scored with 4:11 left as the Tigers earned a berth in the Eastern B regional final with rival Winslow by beat John Bapst 4-3.
The Crusaders scored two goals in the first two minutes to tie the game at 3.
Klinton Peckham scored two short-handed goals 23 seconds apart to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead after the second period.
John Bapst tied the game with a 5-on-3 goal by Andrew Casey 4:24 into the period. With Gardiner still down a man, Peckham chased down a long clearing passing that was orginally played by John Bapst goalie Derek Duff. Peckham gathered the puck before Duff could get back into position and gave Gardiner a 2-1 lead by slipping the puck through Duff's legs with 10:20 left in the period.
Peckham then made a great individual effort to make it 3-1. After chasing down a puck at the John Bapst blue line, Peckham tipped it by a defender, then jumped around that defender into the attacking zone. Peckham got the puck between the circles and slipped a wrister through Duff's legs with 9:57 left.
Kevin May ripped in a shot between the circles on a pass from Forrest Chadwick to give Gardiner 1-0 lead after the first period in the second Eastern B semifinal at Sukee Arena.