Tuesday: Closer Games Today. Pittsford and Victor Undefeated

 

Pittsford had a close game with Penfield and yet preserved their perfect season with a 10-7 win over the visiting Patriots. Victor had no trouble with irondequoit so both teams will have perfect seasons until Thursday when they meet at Pittsford. Newark and Pal-Mac honored teammates who have been fighting medical issues, and the Reds won the game for the first time since 2008. Hilton played a very close game with Brighton and won 8-7. Aquinas had a strong finish as they defeated Gananda 5-4. Marcus Whitman won their first game of the season with a 7-6 victory over Mynderse. Thomas used the second half to beat Canandaigua 13-10. Other winners were Spencerport, Haverling, Gates, Fairport, Wayne and Livonia.

 

--  NOTES:  To start the game Newark senior honorary captain Nathan Barnes, who has been battling osteosarcoma (a rare bone cancer), scored a ceremonial goal with an assist from his twin brother Zach Barnes. AJ Hems on the Pal-Mac team, who has been battling testicular cancer, then scored a ceremonial first goal for Pal-Mac.

When the official game started, Pal-Mac opened with a 3-0 lead in the first three minutes. Newark scored the next six goals reaching into the third quarter. Pal-Mac returned with the next three goals to tie the game at 6-6 entering the fourth quarter. Newark scored the first three goals of the to make it 9-6 with six minutes left in the game. Pal-Mac scored four goals in four minutes to take a 10-9 lead. Teddy Collins scored with 2:13 left in the game to tie it. He scored again with 21 seconds left to take the 11-10 lead. Dylan Harmon won the last face off and ran the time out.

It was the first win for Newark against Pal-Mac since 2008. The Red Raiders has previously won the last fourteen games. But even in the loss, Pal-Mac Head Coach Joe Hill observed, "Tonight was a special night for both teams recognizing two young men who are battling tragic diseases with unbelievable courage. Win or lose on the the scoreboard; I am proud that we were asked to be a part of such a special event. It puts things in perspective for everyone involved."

--  SPORTSFIVE REPORT:  After their overtime win last weekend against Fairport, Brighton came back tonight with another tough contest against Hilton. The Cadets were too much for the Barons at the end of the day as Hilton won 8-7 after holding off Brighton`s attempted comeback for a quarter and a half. The contest was a great display of equally matched teams and in a season that has been filled with high differential scores, it was nice to see such close contests.

Overall this season, Brighton`s game were decided on average by 6.0 points which makes them the 13th closest differential team this season. The Cadets games are decided on average by 7.36 and they are the 24th closest differential. The game wasn't decided until the final minutes with neither team controlling the game and shutting their opponent out. Brighton was stronger in the beginning and end of the game with Hilton controlling the middle.

Brighton came out in the first quarter scoring three goals and held Hilton to a single goal. The Barons looked strong and consistent in the opening quarter. They were patient when shooting and held the ball to take time off the clock. They took eight shots in the opening quarter with seven on cage. One of the keys to their success was the dominance at the face off draw. Parker Finestone finished with 13/19 (68%). He controlled the ball at key times to give Brighton the possession they needed to keep the game close.

The opening goal was scored three minutes into play with freshman attackman Brady McDermott scoring the first of his 3g-1a. After a delay of game assessment against Hilton, Brighton took the ball up on a semi-fast-break from the midfielder with McDermott capitalizing on the lack of positioning by the Cadet defense. McDermott worked from behind the cage during a lot of his shots in the contest. His goals all came from agility based drives (with all three in unsettled situations). Just over a minute later Hilton tied the game when Zeus Doser scored the first of his 2g-3a on a feed from Hunter Duford. Duford came down on a drive from the top of the restraining line as Doser drove from behind the cage. As he beat his defenseman near GLE, Duford fed the ball inside for the assist.

A key point to the Cadet`s win was the inside feed. They continued to feed the crease where multiple defensemen were present. Although many of the Baron goals were impressive feats on single player skill, many of the Cadet goals were impressive feats of teamwork. Brighton continued their early dominance with two more unassisted goals. Their second goal of the game was scored with 3:46 remaining by Owen Ronchetti who drove from behind the cage along the left side and took a low shot that ended up bouncing over goalie Jarod Kimble. The ball hit the inside of the top pipe and took the Barons to 2-1. Twenty-one seconds later McDermott scored again with a drive from behind the cage. Brighton won the face off with Finestone winning after Max Chamberlain (Hilton) was called for early movement on the draw. He passed the ball off to McDermott who took it all the way around the net and scored on a top shelf shot from GLE on the right side. Brighton carried their two goal lead into the conclusion of the first quarter.

After one quarter, both teams had taken eight shots with seven on cage for Brighton and six on cage for Hilton. Kimble had four saves for the Cadets and freshman Caleb Green had five saves for the Barons. Green had a strong game and had a number of impressive point blank saves. He finished the game with nine recorded saves (53%). Kimble, a senior, had an even more impressive game. He finished fifteen saves and held off a strong push from Brighton in the fourth quarter. He has committed to attending Indianapolis next season. His fifteen saves put him at 68%. He added four saves after Brighton had scored their final goal to keep Hilton in the lead and Brighton scoreless for over seven minutes.

In the second quarter Hilton scored two and held Brighton to only a single goal. The Cadets scored the first two goals to tie the game at 3-3. Doser fed the crease on back to back goals with passes to players that were covered by multiple defensemen. Michael Richardson and Shawn Kimble found a way to catch the ball and score to tie the game. Brighton scored the final goal of the quarter with 0:15 remaining. Will Bender was working his defenseman back and forth towards the goal when Ronchetti drove from behind the cage and caught a cross-crease feed to give Brighton the 4-3 lead going into halftime.

Hilton regrouped at the half and came out swinging. They outscored the Barons 3-1 in the third quarter. They scored the first three goals to gain their first lead of the game and extend it to a two goal lead. Jared Gates and Zakk Mount drove the cage in parallel and Gates crossed a pass to Zakk Mount for the first goal. Two minutes later Doser scored the first unassisted goal for Hilton. He drove to the cage and after pulling a double team, forced his way through the defense and put the ball into the back of the net. Less than a minute later Jordan DePetres scored from a fast break that began with a strong save by Kimble. The ball was cleared up field and he took it to the net. Brighton added their single goal with 1:27 remaining in the quarter. McDermott drove from behind the cage, but instead of shooting, he fed the ball up to the left flat for a goal from Max Coke. Hilton held the one goal lead (6-5) going into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter was the most evenly matched of the game. Both teams added two goals and alternated scoring going for Hilton leading by one to a tie game three times. Impressive play from Kimble was the deciding factor in the win for the Cadets. Brighton took twelve shots in the final quarter while Hilton only took four. The Barons had eight on cage with two goals and the Cadets had two on cage with two goals. Bender grabbed his second assist of the game with another inside feed, this time to Noah Shinaman. Two minutes later Duford scored for Hilton after a broken clear. With Green out of the cage, Duford scored with an assist from Doser. The play began with a take from Duford behind the cage against Green. The final Baron goal was scored with 7:49 remaining by McDermott from a fast-break and with an assist from Coke. Kimble and the Hilton defense held Brighton scoreless for the final 7:49 (through eight shots - four on cage). The game winning goal was scored with 3:30 remaining by Mount. He ran into his way past three defenseman to force the ball into the net.

Brighton continues to play HF-L on Thursday and needs to get at least one more win in the season to finish above 50%. Hilton faces Webster Schroeder on Thursday. After Schroeder lost to Brighton in overtime earlier in the season, Thursday`s contest could be a close one once again for the Cadets.

 

--  SPORTSFIVE REPORT:  Pittsford remained undefeated tonight (14-0) despite a determined Penfield team who created an exciting and tension filled game at Pittsford.

Pittsford came out strong at the start of the game, dominating the ball time and scored five unanswered goals in the first five and a half minutes. It looked like the Panthers were going to post another lopsided victory. Five of their fourteen games have been won by ten or more points. Colby Barker was the first to score, at the 10:59 mark on a feed from Owen Smith. Jon Perotto scored the next two, assisted by Jack Kaufman and long stick midfielder Jared Smith. Smith added the fourth Pittsford goal in man up with a feed from Matt Malone and Perotto struck again on a feed from James Felix at 6:36. Penfield scored the last goal of the quarter (3:07) when sophomore midfielder Peter Schwab scored with a feed from Glen Roschetzky and the Panthers led 5-1.

Penfield scored first at the top of the second quarter when freshman attackman Joey Barboza scored an unassisted goal at 10:45. The Panthers looked to stop the comeback when they responded less than a minute later (Colby Barker, unassisted). The patriots controlled the offense for the rest of the half, with a three goal run to finish the half with Pittsford up 6-5. Freshman midfielder Kevin Wall scored first with a pass from Barboza and then junior James Stoler scored on a pass from senior attackman Carter Jordan in man up. Wall scored the last goal with an assist from Schwab.

After the halftime break, the scoring slowed down, the goalies made big saves and there was a great deal of transition as the long stick continually knocked down passes and moved the ball up field. Penfield senior goalie, Willie Klan, who in the first half had five saves, made six in the third quarter, including a couple that looked certain to score for the Panthers. Klan finished the game with twelve saves. Penfield scored first at 8:49 to tie the game at 6-6 when Hunter Savitcheff found Jordan. Two minutes later, Pittsford took the lead on a goal by Kaufman assisted by John Galbraith. There was no more scoring for the mat six and a half minutes of the third quarter, so the Panther led 7-6.

Pittsford extended their lead to 9-6 after goals by Felix (unassisted) and Smith (from Ryan Fairbrother. Penfield continued to play hard and with 4:21 left in the game Barboza scored again, this time on a feed from Jordan. The Panther senior leadership, including Brandon Barker, worked hard to convince the younger Pittsford players to settle down. They held on to the ball most of the rest of the game, and after two warnings to "keep it in" senior midfielder Ethan Kober scored the last goal of the game (unassisted). Pittsford, through the efforts of their very skilled face off man, Zac Cooley, managed to play a good game of keep-away, despite the strong pressing by the Penfield defense.

As the result of Victor`s win tonight against Irondequoit, both teams held on to their undefeated season until Thursday, where only one team will hold on to the illusive title. The two teams have decided to charge a two dollar admission for the Thursday game, with all proceeds to be divided between the Jeff Milano-Johnson Fund and the Alex Davis Memorial Scholarship Fund.

--  NOTES:  Fairport sophomore TJ Hendricks returned to duty tonight after missing five games for an injury, and made his presence know with five goals for the Red Raiders. Also returning to the lineup was senior Bryan Dunham who has been waiting for a year and a half to be cleared to play and he scored two goals for Fairport. Senior midfielder Tom Utz won 17 of 19 face offs for the Red Raiders.

--  NOTES:  In the highest scoring game of the night, Gates Chili defeated Greece Athena/Odyssey 16-13. The Spartans scored the first goal and never trailed. Greece tied the game four times at 5, 6, 7, and 8 before Gates score six out of seven straight goals to secure their win. The Thunder scored the final three goals of the game (two in man-up) to bring the score closer in the final minutes.

Gates Chili had nine players make their offensive scorebook with Joseph O`Hare leading with 4g-2a. Nicholas Ehmann (4g), Austin Castre (3g-1a) and Brett Jacobs (3g-1a) added to the high scorers for the Spartans. Midfielder Brett Kirkpatrick finished at 54% for the face-off draw with a team leading 12 ground balls. Goalie Michael Cavallaro, goalie CJ Parker, Castre and O'Hare each added another four ground balls to the count. Cavallaro finished with 4 recorded saves.

For Greece, Ian Grana led his team with 5g-2a. Zach Gibaud (2g-3a) and Dylan Weimer (3g-2a) both added five points for the Thunder. In the cage, Jason Harter finished with 13 recorded saves. Sophomore Kyle Benham led his team with six ground balls.

--  NOTES:  Aquinas scored the final four goals and held Gananda scoreless for 15:55 to defeat the Blue Panthers 5-4. The Little Irish trailed for nearly the entire game, only taking the lead with 4:12 remaining in the final quarter. They took advantage of a late penalty against the Blue Panthers to take their first and only lead of the game.

Gananda's Joe Fisher scored the opening goal with an assist from Nick Rapp with 1:54 left in the first quarter. Just over a minute later, Riley Palmer scored the first of his two goal to give Gananda a 2-0 lead after the first quarter of play. Terrance Richards scored an unassisted goal to get the Little Irish on the board. He finished with 2g. Palmer scored his second to end the second quarter and Remmy Glod scored the lone Blue Panther goal of the third quarter.

Nick Tschetter scored his lone goal (and finished with 1g-1a) to start off the four goal run for the Little Irish. Elliot Clemmons scored two of the goals, including the game winning goal and Richards added the fourth. Face-off midfielder Tyler Olbrich had an impressive day for the Little Irish. He finished at 70% (7/10) and a team leading seven ground balls. Tschetter added another five and defenseman Rocky Delfino added three. In the cage for Aquinas, Tony Deleo finished with 3 saves.

For Gananda, Justin Anken finished at 67% between the pipes (10s/5ga). Defenseman Dylan Joy finished with a team leading 8 ground balls and 5 takes. Anken added another four ground balls and midfielder Nick Rapp and defenseman Kevin Schutt added another three each.

--  NOTES:  After losing a player in the opening quarter, Avon was forced to play man-down for the remainder of the contest.

--  NOTES:  Marcus Whitman secured their first win of the season with a 7-6 win over Mynderse. The Wildcats scored three of the last four goals to secure the win. Tom Kikkert scored the tying goal with 7:20 remaining and Ben Sennett scored the game winner with 5:16 remaining. The Wildcats had six different players make the scorebook. Zack LaBarr finished with 10 saves.

For Mynderse, Tyler Kuell and Craig Pettingil split halves in the cage. Kuell recorded two saves and Pettingil recorded three. Brad Sandroni finished with 2g to lead his team in offensive scoring. Five other Blue Devils each added one point. Defenseman Ben Cafolla and LSM Mathias Jones added six ground balls each to lead the team.

--  NOTES:  Webster Thomas scored six unanswered goals and held Canandaigua scoreless for 22:04 spanning the second to fourth quarters to defeat the Braves 13-10. Thomas had won five of the last six contests with Canandaigua. Before that, the Braves won the first five times that they faced. Canandaigua started off strong before slipping in the second half. They led 7-3 with 8:44 remaining in the second quarter and did not score again until 10:40 in the fourth. Then they only added three more goals before time expired. Thomas added fourth goals after the Braves scored in the fourth quarter.

Travis Ford scored the opening goal, unassisted, for the Titans. He finished with 5g-1a. Only five players made the scorebook for the Titans with Kevin Hill adding 2g-1a and Cam Isaac adding 3g. The Braves scored back to back goals to take the lead with scoring from Tim Bay and Ethan Marchitell. The team scored back and forth before Canandaigua scored four unanswered. They added four goals to start the second quarter with two coming in the first sixty seconds.

In the cage for Thomas, Davis Bird finished at 50% with 10 saves. Canandaigua goalie Luke MacNeil finished with 11 saves. Face off midfielder Nick Johnson led the Braves at 78% (21/27). He also led with 11 ground balls.