Acalanes faced off against the Northgate Broncos Tuesday night, last year’s league champs and NCS finalists, in a highly anticipated match.
The Dons started strong, establishing an early lead. Ian Sanftner’s dominance in faceoffs, combined with solid defense early on, led to crucial possession time for Acalanes. Simon Appel took advantage of the possessions and capitalized on an early opportunity, scoring the first goal for the Dons. Grady Evans quickly followed with one goal, and then another both assisted by Caleb Mason putting the Dons up 3-0. Northgate managed to score with three minutes left in the first quarter, bringing the score to 3-1. The first quarter was marked by strong defensive play from a trio of Dons’ defenders, Corbin Gallegos, Henry Finegold, and Leo Deignan.
With the ball back on offense Dons’ Brody Darin assisted Griffin Rotundo for another Acalanes goal, extending the lead to 4-1. Luca Premo contributed with key loose ball pickups in the second quarter for the Dons, but Northgate scored again before halftime, narrowing the gap to 4-2.
At the start of the second half, Caleb Mason assisted Simon Appel for a goal, making it 5-2 Dons. Northgate responded with a give-and-go play, bringing the score to 5-3. Kyle Sanftner made several crucial saves for Acalanes in goal, but Northgate managed to score again, closing the gap to 5-4.
The third quarter was a scrappy affair, with both teams battling for possession. The Broncos had tough defense the put pressure on the Dons and multiple shots hit the pipe and bounce off, stymying some great offensive looks for the Dons. Sam Bishop had key turnovers for the Dons and Brody Darin then delivered an excellent pass to Luke Dafferner in front of the goal extending the Dons’ lead to 6-4. Northgate scored again with two minutes remaining, bringing the score to 6-5. But Luca Premo and TJ Cronin played strong D for the Dons in the closing minutes of the game, helping Acalanes maintain a couple key possessions, and bring home the victory for their first league game of the season.
Final score: Acalanes 6-Northgate 5.
