VICTOR-14 at PITTSFORD-12  -   Victor came into tonight’s game looking to end up back on top after an 11-10 loss last year in the Sectional Finals against Canandaigua. This year they were facing undefeated Pittsford, who were looking for their first Title since 2023. The Blue Devils came out strong after a back and forth first half, they secured the 14-12 win. After tying the game four points in a row, the Blue Devils went on a five goals streak to increase their lead to 8-4 and although the Panthers fought back hard, they never tied the game again and Victor came out on top.

This was the Blue Devils 11th Sectional Title. The game came down to the face-off and the goaltending, both went in the Blue Devils favor. Sophomore Eli Ricci (3g-1a) finished the game not only with a strong offensive performance but he recorded 21/30 face-off wins and 19 groundballs. This resulted in a significantly larger percentage of ball control and attempts at the cage. Although Pittsford’s defense was no slouch, the repeated offensive attempts by the Blue Devils wore them down.

In the cage, Will Simpson played a stellar game for the Blue Devils. He recorded 16 saves and had multiple close range saves to keep the Panthers from tying the game in the second half. His performance was so strong that he was named All-Tournament MVP as a defensive player. Offensively, Ricci was also named to the All-Tournament Team. They were joined by Jackson Mead (3g-1a), Colin Wheeler (4g-1a) and defenseman Oliver Kowal. For Pittsford, their offensive was led by Jahyden Malorani (5g). He was also a major factor in the second half scoring four of the last five Panther goals and keeping them in the running. He was joined on the All-Tournament team by Grant Lewis (3g), Cole Goetz (1g-4a) and defenseman Charles Hezel. From the Semi-Final match-ups, Lucas Nuccitelli (Thomas) and Tyler Reger (Hilton) were selected.

Although Victor came out on top, the Panthers played an incredible game. Pittsford’s defense was also strong, particularly in their long-sticks. Although only Hezel was named to the All-Tournament Team, sophomore defenseman Adam Gerby, and junior defensemen Brody Pusateri and Jack Schlid also had great games for Pittsford. Goalies Bear Wehrheim (3s/8ga) and Pierce Madigan (4g/6a) split halves. Although the score finished relatively high, both defenses finished the game with their head held high.

The first quarter never showed a team more than one game ahead with Pittsford striking first. The Panther’s opening goal was scored by Lewis with a ground ball on the crease that he finished into the back of the net with 10:03 left in the opening quarter. About a minute later and Victor was on the board with Jackson Mead scoring on a backhanded shot as he crossed the face of the goal. Both teams had opportunities on offense with their defenses standing strong. The next goal was another by Mead. This time he scored off a feed from behind the cage by Matthew Herendeen. The Blue Devils took their first lead of the game (2-1) with 5:35 remaining in the quarter. Pittsford responded to the Back-to-back Blue Devil goals with Back-to-back goals of their own. The first goal started with a defensive ground ball by Hezel. He made a strong second effort to grab a loose ball that Victor could not control near the restraining line. He rushed up the field, leaving all the Blue Devils behind. He made a pass to Goetz, who quickly redirected to Lewis for the goal. Game time continued to count down before the Panthers scored again in the final 12 seconds. Goetz made his second assist of the night to Trevor Nally with an outside shot. Not to be outdone, Wheeler scored on a fast-break for Victor after Ricci won his own ground ball off the draw. The game was tied up 3-3 after 12 minutes.

The second half started off similarly with Pittsford scoring again to take their third lead. This time it was back to Goetz assisting Lewis on a feed from behind the cage. The Panthers were up 4-3 with 11:01 left in the half. This was the last Panther goal for 12 minutes. During that time, Victor came in strong, scoring five unanswered goals and taking a strong 8-4 lead into halftime. The Blue Devils were consistent and methodically as they pressured the Panther defense and their own defense held Pittsford scoreless. Victor had goals from Mead with an inside dodge, Herendeen with a sweep across the top, the long stick Tim McAuliffe scoring on a fast-break, Gage Hay on a cut down the left side (assisted by Wheeler) and a fast-break goal by Ricci off the face six seconds after the Hay goal. The Blue Devils looked strong going into halftime.

Coming out of halftime, Pittsford showed they were not willing to give up just yet. The Panthers scored three Back-to-back goals to pull within a single goal (8-7). This was the first of three times in the second half that Pittsford was able to pull within a single goal; however, they were never able to tie the game against after the 4-4 tie early in the second quarter. Pittsford’s first goal of the third quarter came during a man-up play with Goetz assisting Griffin Goetz at 11:06. Less than a minute later and Malorani scored the first of his five goals with a hard outside shot that went past Simpson. The third goal was another fast-break goal with Max Morgenstern assisting Goetz for his lone goal of the game. As much as the Panther’s wanted to stay in the game, Victor wanted to hold on to their lead. The teams alternated the last three goals of the quarter. Wheeler scored with an outside shot from the left flank (assisted by Mead), followed closely by Malorani’s second goal. He scored off an inside dodge. The final third quarter goal was another Wheeler goal, this time assisted by Mead. Victor held the 10-8 lead after there quarters.

In the fourth quarter, Victor pulled ahead again with three Back-to-back goals (four if you include Wheeler’s final goal of the 3rd quarter). Wheeler, Lincoln Snyder and Ricci each scored a single goal to put Victor up 13-8 less than a minute into the quarter. For the final five goals of the game, four were scored by Pittsford with three being unassisted goal by Malorani as he attempted to get his team back into the match. The final Victor goal was another straight dodge from the top of the box by Ricci (although this one was not off the face-off). The last two Panther goals came at 5:57 and 1:31; however, the closest they were able to get was within two goals.

Victor moves into the Sub-Regional match-up of the State Tournament where they will face Orchard Park. Orchard Park defeated Lake Shore/Silver Creek 13-11 to claim the Section VI Title. Locally, Orchard Park played seven games with wins over Fairport (13-6), Thomas (13-10), Irondequoit (14-6, Schroeder (14-3), McQuaid Jesuit (11-7), and Canandaigua (9-8) as week as a single loss against Penfield (11-7). Their loss against the Patriots is currently their only loss of the season. The last time the Blue Devils faced Orchard Park was in 2023 when they defeated them 17-2 in the NYS Quarter Finals Match. Historically, they are 3-0 against the Quakers.