BY MICHAEL KELLY
Gazette Sportswriter
CLIFTON PARK — An unkind non-league schedule ended in yet another tough loss for the Shenendehowa hockey team Saturday.
Now, the Plainsmen have five Capital District High School Hockey League games left to show they are still a team that needs to be reckoned with when the Section II Division I playoffs roll around in mid-February.
“We’ve learned a lot in these games about ourselves and our team,” Shenendehowa head coach Scott Louis said after his squad’s 3-1 loss to Ithaca. “Some of our youth has really excelled in these games. Our power play is really coming around.”
What the Plainsmen don’t have to show from their non-league schedule is a whole lot of wins. Playing one state-ranked team after another away from CDHSHL play, Shenendehowa (5-1, 6-9) finished its non-league schedule with a 1-8 mark.
Its latest non-league loss came to Ithaca (2-10-2, Section IV), which played Saratoga Springs to a 2-2 tie Friday night. Like in too many games this season for Louis’ liking, the Plainsmen appeared to have the better run of play throughout much of the contest, but could not translate that into a victory.
