La Salle's Alex Verchereau (19) scored a shorthanded goal and assisted on Vinny Planz's goal in the first but sophomore goaltender Brett Bernardo shone the brightest for La Salle on Thursday night. Bernardo began the season as the Cadets main goaltender but was relegated to the bench in recent weeks as Caleb Crowley began to heat up. La Salle head coach Tim Flanigan decided to start Bernardo against Saratoga Springs, the No. 8 team in New York, and, boy, did it pay off. Bernardo stopped all 39 shots he faced en route to a 2-0 shutout victory for the Cadets at Conway Ice Arena. (All photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

Verchereau takes a spill in front of Saratoga's Luke Fauler (right). The Cadets killed all seven Saratoga Springs power plays, including a 6-on-4 advantage for the last 2:05 of the game.

La Salle senior captain Will Kiley (12) fights for the puck with a Saratoga defender in Thursday's victory. The Cadets host CDHSHL Division II leader Glens Falls this Saturday at Conway Ice Rink. The puck drops at 7:20 p.m.

Mitch Wacholder (left) fights Saratoga's Justin Wormley (right) down the ice in Thursday's contest. The Cadets now have 10.5 points in CDHSHL play, one and a half points behind Shaker-Colonie and two behind Saratoga.

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Catholic Central's Colleen Dignum (above) and Maria Foglia play the role of the lockdown defenders for the Lady Crusaders. Coming off a weekend in which they knocked off NYS No. 6 Lourdes, CCHS hosts Schenectady tonight in a crucial Big 10 matchup. The Lady Crusaders are mired in a four-way tie for second place while the Lady Patriots (14-1) are ranked No. 12 in the state. Schenectady has defeated CCHS twice already this season, once in a non-league game and 10 days ago in a 53-50 Big 10 game in the Electric City.

Maria Foglia (above) said that she and Dignum sometimes feel like the class clowns on the team because they tend to dish out the jokes in practice. That's just fine with them because they aren't kidding around on the defensive end. They'll have their hands full Friday night trying to defend Schenectady's Shelia Dixon and Antonia Williams.

Check out the full scoop on the CCHS girls basketball team and the game story from the La Salle-Saratoga Springs hockey game in Friday's edition of The Record, along with basketball standings through Wednesday night's games.