Shenendehowa hockey playing all angles heading into state Final Four

PHOTOGRAPHER: Stan Hudy

Shenendehowa goalie Mason Snider looks around teammate Nate Hutchens, left, at the Section II Division I hockey final against Adirondack March 1, 2022 at Messa Rink on the Union College campus.

The Shenendehowa hockey program is focused on the goalies at both ends of the ice Saturday when the Plainsmen face Section I’s Suffern at LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo in its first New York State Public High School Athletic Association semifinal appearance since 2005.

Shenendehowa junior goalie Mason Snider has seen his confidence grow, as he’s dropped his goals against average to fewer than two goals per game.

“I had a couple bad games, and after the [winter] break I came in to play the third period of a game and I didn’t let any goals in,” Snider said. “That was a big confidence booster. After that, we shut out Bethlehem and Saratoga; it was a confidence booster, and just kept growing, growing, growing.”

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After a 1-5-1 start to the season, the Plainsmen were sidelined in late December for almost two weeks, a break that combined a scheduled pause in games with a temporary shutdown due to several players testing positive for COVID.

The new year turned the page for the program and Snider as Shenendehowa won nine straight games.

“A lot of it was our defense getting comfortable with Mason and him understanding that we trust him,” Shenendehowa coach Juan de la Rocha said. “Our defensemen have started to have an understanding of how to play in front of him. They know what to expect, they know when they have to lend a hand and when he’s got things under control.”

Snider boasts a 15-3 record with three shutouts and a 1.97 goals against average heading into Saturday’s state semifinal.

The newfound confidence within the defense was contagious on the ice.

“Mason breeds confidence into our [defense] and then our [defense] then transfers that confidence to our forwards,” de la Rocha said. “When we’re under pressure, we can usually get ourselves out of a jam without any panic because Mason and the defensemen understand each other, and they know what to expect and they’re just working so well together.”

At the opposite end of Snider, it will be Shenendehowa forward Brandon Stocker’s job to impede the vision of the Suffern goalie and set up the Plainsmen’s first scoring line during the game that starts at 9 a.m.

“He’s always had a knack for liking to play in front of the net,” de la Rocha said of Stocker. “It’s just natural to stand off the side a little bit and try to tip [the puck past the goalie] first, but you’re really supposed to be in front and screening first.”

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Stocker has an appreciation for an unobstructed view in goal from his spring athletic season when he is a goalie for the Shenendehowa boys’ lacrosse program.

“It’s all angles; I always have to have the right angle of where the shooter is,” Stocker said of his springtime duties. “[Now], I just find the right line being in front of the net, wherever the shooter is. I think it’s just natural.”

Stocker not only fills a goalie’s view with his 5-foot-10, 170-pound frame, but he can take a few pokes by opposing defenses.

“I like just getting in front of the net, having the [defenseman] cross checking you in the back,” Stocker said. “I just take it, draw penalties and score goals.”

Stocker’s been so effective that de la Rocha has adopted a “Stocker assist” in his notes on Plainsmen goals.

“As the puck’s coming, I’m either getting out the way right at the last second before the goalie can see it,” Stocker said, “or if it’s at my feet, I’m tipping it through his five-hole and through other areas.”

Shenendehowa dismissed Section IX’s Monroe-Woodbury 12-2 last Saturday on the road in Newburgh in the NYSPHSAA regional final. The Plainsmen won their first Section II Division I title since 2014 when they defeated Adirondack 7-2 on March 1 at Messa Rink on the Union College campus.

Queensbury, the Section II Division II representative, will face Section I champion Pelham Memorial at 2:15 p.m. at HarborCenter on Saturday afternoon. Queensbury defeated Section I runner-up John Jay 7-5 last weekend to advance to the Division II Final Four.