Accustomed to blocking pucks on the ice, Markus Paltauf found himself thrown into the proverbial fire on the lacrosse field this spring.

A hockey goaltender since his early childhood, Paltauf was called upon to stop balls instead of pucks and show off his lacrosse net-minding skills in some pressure situations late this spring.

The Newtown High School junior and first-year emergency backup lacrosse goalie had to be called upon in the state playoffs after standout starter Jake Dandrea sustained an injury in the conference tourney.

Paltauf had been persuaded by Nighthawk Coach Scott Bulkley to join the team as an emergency backup to Dandrea earlier this spring, all but assured that he would not have to play. Bulkley said he told Paltauf he probably did not have to worry about getting his number called, but that the team needed a backup just in case.

Then came the just-in-case scenario, and the backup, who had limited experience practicing the position, found himself in his first game, a state playoff contest when No. 22 New Milford visited No. 11 NHS in the Class L state qualifying round on May 29. Paltauf made a handful of saves and intercepted some New Milford passes to help the Nighthawks win 14-8 and advance.

Next came a visit to No. 6 Simsbury in the first round on June 2. Newtown fell 9-8, despite nine saves by Paltauf in an upset bid, ending a challenging season in which Paltauf and many of his teammates had to step up.

“I thought he played very well,” Bulkley said. “He’s a competitor. He went out there and played as hard as he could play.”

Having played attack in lacrosse since middle school, Paltauf was familiar with the game, but had never suited up to stop shots in lacrosse — and goaltending in hockey and lacrosse are two different animals.

“You can’t compare the two,” said Paltuaf, adding that in hockey, the puck is shot from the ice whereas in lacrosse, the ball can come at him from low or high angles. “Hand-eye coordination plays a role, too.”

“Hockey, you’ve got to slide. In lacrosse you’ve got to step, which is a totally different movement,” Bulkley said.

Not to mention the equipment (or lack thereof, in the case of lacrosse) is much different. Beyond skates rather than shoes, hockey goalies wear all sorts of padding, whereas lacrosse goalies have a chest protector, cup, and a helmet with face shield — but little else to separate them from getting bruises.

The Newtown coach credited Paltauf for working hard in practice to be ready.

“He tried to be as prepared as much as he could be for the guys on the team,” Bulkley said. “He’s a great kid; the guys love him.”

Paltauf has gone from emergency backup to possibly being in line to succeed Dandrea between the posts next fall. With some honing of skills and more practice, Paltauf can help the Nighthawks again — if he is up for it — Bulkley believes.

“He has to try to manage to not hurt his hockey form and improve his lacrosse form,” the coach added.

Paltauf impressed his coach and teammates with this small but pressure-packed goaltending display.

“I thought he did a good job,” Bulkley said.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.