After finishing the last two seasons as the Runner-up, Pittsford finally became the Class A Champions.  The Panthers defeated McQuaid Jesuit 9-5 tonight.  The game was close for the first half before Pittsford took over in the third and fourth quarters.  The Panthers scored eight straight goals spanning the second, third and fourth quarters.  The Panther defense held the Knights scoreless for over 36 minutes.  Leading the charge for the Panthers was Tournament MVP senior attackman Rex Kesselring.  Kesselring finished with 4g. 

The game was a defensive game for both sides.  McQuaid Jesuit goalie Will Gordon had a strong game with 10 recorded saves.  Long stick Gavin Brownlie also had a standout performance for the Knights.  Both were named to the All-Tournament Team.  For Pittsford, Noah Hezel and Nate Macpherson were both recognized for strong performances in the defense and were named to the All-Tournament Team.  Pittsford goalie Nolan Dehan finished with 7 saves.  One of the two Semi-Final players selected for the All-Tournament Team was Hilton goalie Jason Mosher, who had strong games in both his Semi and Quarter Final matchups.

McQuaid started off the game strong with back-to-back goals in the first quarter.  The Knights scored 39 seconds into the match-up with an unassisted goal by Vincenzo Giangreco (also named to the All-Tournament Team).  Six minutes later, Henry Coke scored the first of his 3 goals on the night.  Coke scored with drive from the top of the restraining line.  Coke was also named to the All-Tournament Team.  The Knights held the 2-0 lead into the second quarter.

Pittsford scored their opening goal with 6:40 left in the second quarter.  After nearly 18 minutes without a goal, the Panthers were on the scoreboard with the first of Kesselring’s four goals.  This time he scored unassisted with a drive straight down the middle.  McQuaid Jesuit held the 2-1 lead going into halftime.

In the second half, the Panther’s offense took over.  Pittsford scored five goals in the third quarter.  Ben Steingass, Kesselring and Avery Valenti scored the first three goals in the first five minutes of the quarter.  The Panthers added two more goals in the final two minutes.  With 2:02 left on the clock, Jackson Green scored with an unassisted drive from the top.  With 0:01 left on the clock, Green assisted Kesselring on a fast-break unsettled goal.  Green was named to the All-Tournament Team for Pittsford.  The Panthers led 6-2 going into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Pittsford started off the quarter with back-to-back goals to increase their lead to six.  Kesselring scored his fourth and final goal along with an unassisted goal by Ian Erskine.  McQuaid Jesuit broke their scoring drought with an extra-man goal by Coke (assisted by Chris Woodard).  Less than 30 seconds later, the Knights scored again with an unassisted goal from John Harding.  Each team added one more goal.  Pittsford scored on an open-net (Green) and McQuaid Jesuit scored their final goal (Coke). 

Rounding out the All-Tournament Team were Ben Steingass (Pittsford) and Ethan Aust (Penfield).  Pittsford moves on to the State Tournament on Saturday at Fisher.

 - - More images in the photo gallery.