Thursday: One Undefeated... It

 

The game that everyone has been talking about saw two undefeated teams putting it on the line. The fans were not disappointed in the game that saw a tying goal by Pittsford (14-1) with four seconds left and then an overtime win by Victor (14-0). There were other exciting games as Thomas held off advances by Penfield for an 8-7 win and Brockport was a 12-11 winner over the Thunder. Hilton beat Schroeder 9-8 and Irondequoit defeated Rush-Henrietta (9-7. Other winners were Churchville-Chili, Pal-Mac, Aquinas, Batavia-Attica, Penn Yan (over Fairport 9-6), Spencerport, Midlakes, Brighton and McQuaid Jesuit.

 

 

--  SPORTSFIVE REPORT:  In the battle of the last two undefeated teams in Section Five, Victor scored in man up play with 3:12 remaining in the first overtime period to defeat Pittsford 10-9. Ryan Maloney passed across the crease to Drew Collins for the goal. Maloney led his team in scoring with 2g-3a. The Blue Devils win was only the second time that they had defeated the Panthers (Pittsford has won 7 times). Both times that Victor has won it has been by a single goal.

Pittsford led nearly the entire contest. Victor took their first lead with 5:20 remaining in the fourth quarter. They were a different team in the second half than the first. In the first two quarters, Victor had difficulty on control of the ball, hitting the cage, and controlling the loose balls but in the second half they seemed much more like a team that was undefeated. Overall, the Panthers did not have their best day either. Although, for the fans, this game was probably one of the best in the Section this season, both teams have played better games earlier in the season and both are capable of so much more.

There were four man-up goals scored in the contest with each team scoring on two. Victor scored two on six attempts and Pittsford scoring two on four attempts. The opening goal was scored by the Panthers in man-up. Jonathan Perotto fed Matt Malone for an outside shot to the upper corner of the goal. Just over a minute later Pittsford took an early 2-0 lead. Owen Smith drove from behind the cage. After crossing GLE he leaned into his defenseman and bounced back to create space for his shot. Victor fought back with two goals of their own to tie the game. Maloney scored the first with a drive from behind the cage. With 5:07 remaining in the first quarter, Mike DeMarco scored his first goal with a drive from the left side of GLE. After ducking under his defenseman he finished with a low shot past Kevin Maguire. Maguire had a strong first half with 9 of his 11 saves coming in the first half. He finished the game at 52%. Pittsford scored the final goal of the quarter. James Felix scored his lone goal after picking up his own loose ball on the crease after Chayse Ierlan stopped his first attempt at the cage. Felix finished with game with 7 shots (5 on cage and 1 goal). Ierlan was the opposite of Maguire with a majority of his saves coming in the second half. He only had 3 of his 10 saves in the first half. He finished the game at 53%. Pittsford led 3-2 at the end of the first quarter.

Pittsford continued in the second quarter by adding the first two goals and leading 5-2 with 9:59 remaining. Owen Smith scored the first of his three goals. Pittsford began with the ball in their defensive end still in man-down defense. They cleared the ball (during which the penalty was released) and Smith moved the ball down the left side of the cage. He drove in a scored unassisted for the Panthers. One minute later Colby Barker scored his lone goal with an unassisted drive at the cage. Victor had less trouble in the second quarter than they did in the first quarter, but still did not capitalize and only scored a single goal. With 2:56 remaining Victor started with the ball after a time out and crossed the ball behind the cage and caught Maguire across the net. Maloney fed Max Lambert for the goal. Pittsford led 5-3 after two quarters.

In the third quarter, Victor already looked more in control and more patient, especially on defense. The Blue Devil defense took a rather long series with Pittsford throwing everything they had at them and continually pushing them back. The Panthers took nine shots with four on cage spanning over three minutes and were denied a goal. Victor`s defensive unit for the majority of the stretch (there was time-out that gave Victor defense a short reprieve) consisted of Jack Callahan, Nick Montemorano, Cory Mason, Alec DeCarlo, Alex deNormand and Patrick Barrow. The unit was aggressive when they needed and patient when that was required. More than any other portion of the game, that three minute stretch demonstrated why Victor is a powerhouse this season.

Victor scored two goals in the third quarter with scoring in man-up from Trimboli (assisted by Maloney) and Maloney with an assist from Jamie Trimboli. Pittsford was held to a single goal with Brandon Barker making a strong single player effort to force the ball into the goal. Pittsford continued to lead 6-5 after three quarters. The fourth quarter had the most flurry of scoring with seven total goals and the sore tying four times.

Victor scored the first goal to tie the game at 6-6. Trimboli made an impressive one and one effort against Mike Perotto to score unassisted with 10:29 remaining in regulation. Pittsford took back the lead with either second man-up goal. B. Barker scored from the left flat with an assist from his brother Colby Barker. Two more minutes of back and back play and Victor tied the game again at 7-7. Defenseman Brandon Kunick took the ball up on a fast break and looked across the crease to Collins for the goal. Three minutes later Victor took their first lead of the game with an unassisted goal from DeMarco. For the first time in the contest, Pittsford was playing catch-up and not controlling the pace from the safety of the lead. With 1:31 remaining Brandon Barker forced another goal. Forty-one seconds later Victor kept their lead with DeMarco dodging through three defensemen.

T.D. Ierlan, who was less dominant than usual, still finished at 60% at the face off draw and a team leading six ground balls. Pittsford face-off man Zac Cooley finished at 40% but won a number of face-offs when it mattered. He also led his team in ground balls with five. With a little help from a timeout the Panthers won the draw and had a chance to send the game into overtime. Colby Barker started with the ball and got a touch into the restraining box before passing it back to his brother near the midfield line. Brandon Barker worked back and forth for a shot and settled on one that missed the cage. Jack Kaufman took the ball into the game and took a shot off that is saved by Ierlan. The ball went out of the left side and Pittsford was awarded the ball. Smith took it straight in from the sideline and scored with 0:04 remaining. T.D. Ierlan won the final face off in regulation and got a shot off (but it failed to reach the cage).

In overtime, Ierlan won the face off as a technical draw. The ball was taken behind the cage by Victor before they were pushed with possession and Pittsford was sent to the penalty box. With a man-up situation, Maloney found Collins basically uncovered across the crease and he scored to win the game for the Blue Devils.

Overall, Pittsford took slightly more shots than Victor (37-34), but had less on cage (19-21). Both goalies had approximately the same save percentage (52.6% vs 52.4%). So percentage on cage was a key deciding factor. Victor had 62% of their shots on cage and Pittsford had 51% on cage. Both teams had a high percentage of their shots coming from just three players. Victor`s top three shooters accounted for 68% of their shots (DeMarco - 10, Trimboli - 7, Maloney - 6). Pittsford top three shooters accounted for 65% of their shots (Brandon Barker - 8, Felix - 7, Perotto - 7).

With one more week in the regular season Victor will play Penfield and Hilton. Pittsford will finish their regular season at Brighton on Tuesday. As Pittsford is a class A team and Victor is a Class B team, they will not play each other again this season.

 

Pittsford Girls vs Canandaigua

Today's Pittsford games featured a boys and girls double header to support the JMJ Fund and Alex Davis Scholarship Fund. In the opening contest Pittsford played host to Canandaigua. Top Seeded Pittsford (11-2) defeated Canandaigua (3-12) 7-2. The Panthers scored all seven of their goals before the Braves got on the scoreboard.

Pittsford was led in scoring by Allie Panara with 3g-1a. Midfielder Jillie Quevedo led her team in ground balls with five. Defensive players Kenzie Winn and Heather Higgins each finished with two caused turnovers for the Panthers. In the cage, Michelle Messenger finished with 6 saves (5 field shots and 1 8M shot).

Canandaigua was led in scoring by Emily Reals with 2g. Cayle Clement led her team with 4 ground balls. Natalie Gwynn finished at 50% at the face off draw with 1 draw control. Clement had the remaining three draw controls. In the cage, Harmony Moore finished with 8 saves in the first half and a portion of the second. Izzy Kenyon came in the second half and recorded four saves.

Next up for the Panthers are Fayetteville-Manlius (6-7) of Section III on Saturday. Next up for the Braves are Churchville-Chili (8-5) next Wednesday.

Scoring for Pittsford were Panara (3g-1a), Caroline Cullinan (2g), Elizabeth Blanding (1g-1a), Jenna Doyle (1g-1a), Emma Maggio (1a) and Maddie Miller (1a).

Scoring for Canandaigua were Reals (2g) and Gwynn (1a.)

--  NOTES:  Churchville-Chili took the lead back from Greece Arcadia/Olympia with 1:09 remaining in the first quarter and held off all their advances to defeat the Lightning 14-10. The Saints scored the final two goals of the contest to cement the victory. Gavin Catalano had a strong game for Gates between the pipes with 20 saves (59%) and was a key factor in keeping the Lightning in the game. Midfielder Matt McHale was a part of 60% of the scoring with 5g-1a.

Churchville-Chili had seven players make the offensive scorebook with midfielder Cameron Shipley leading in scoring with 3g-4a (50% of the goals). Attackmen Ryan Cosgrove and Lucas Blaszyk each added 4g-1a. The three of them accounted for 11g-6a (17/21 points for the Saints). Attackman Joey Johnson and midfielders Austin Orengo, Dan Bonafede and Jason Tebo each added a single point. In the cage, Matt Cobb finish with 7 saves.

--  NOTES:  Thomas continued their winning streak having won the last 11 contests (including three by only a single goal). The Titan's only two losses of the season have been with undefeated Victor and previously undefeated Pittsford. The Titans held off a late scoring drive by Penfield to defeat the Patriots 8-7.

Both teams fought for the lead in the first six minutes with scoring alternating for the first five goals. Thomas` Kevin Hill scored the opening goal with an assist from Cam Isaac. Penfield`s Hunter Savitcheff scored their first goal unassisted only 0:35 later. The Pair of Hill and Isaac switched for the second goal with Isaac scoring. Savitcheff tied the game again for Penfield with 6:18 remaining in the opening quarter. That was the last Patriot goal until 5:48 in the third quarter (24:30). Thomas scored five goals in that span. Isaac (2), Matt Fiore, Travis Ford and Hill scored for the Titans.

The Patriots never gave up and scored five of the last six goals, but it was not enough to tie the game. The final Titan goal was scored with 0:44 remaining in the third quarter. They were held scoreless in the fourth quarter. Penfield brought the game within one with 0:48 remaining in regulation. They had two more shots at the cage, but neither were on cage.

Between the pipes, Willie Klan finished with 16 saves for Penfield (70%). LSM Adam Witscheber and midfielder James Stoler led the ground ball count for Penfield with five each. Isaac finished with seven ground balls to lead the Titans. Davis Bird recorded 10 saves (59%) for Thomas.

--  NOTES:   Pal-Mac goalie Jared Hurlbutt came up big between the pipes in the second half making 11 saves on 12 shots on cage.

--  NOTES:  In their second meeting of the season, Midlakes defeated Mynderse 11-8 (they defeated the Blue Devils 9-7 on April 9th). Like in their first meeting, the game changed leaders multiple times. Back in April, Midlakes took the early lead before Mynderse fought back to take the lead in the third quarter. Midlakes scored the final four goals and held the Blue Devils scoreless for the final 12:21.

Today the lead changed four times with Midlakes once again taking the lead in the fourth quarter. The Screaming Eagles scored four unanswered goals spanning the third and fourth quarters to take the game for 6-5 Mynderse to 9-6 Midlakes. The Blue Devils tried to fight back in the final quarter, but never got closer than two. Mynderse had six players make their offensive scorebook. Aidan Trout led with 3g. In the cage, Tyler Kuell finished with 12 saves (52%). Defenseman Ben Cafolla finished with 8 ground balls.

For Midlakes, Jeshurun Eldridge led in scoring with 4g-1a. Attackman Alex Holt and midfielder Chris Goodman each added 3g for the Screaming Eagles. Goalie Kyle Wilkes finished at 50% with 8 saves.

--  NOTES:  Hilton scored the game winning goal with 0:09 remaining in regulation to defeat Webster Schroeder 9-8. Schroeder scored the first goal of the contest with an unassisted goals from Blake Balcaen and Jared Griffin. Hilton then scored five unanswered goals with scoring for Zeus Doser (3), Michael Richardson and Jordan DePetres. Doser was the big scorer of the night with 4g-1a. His fourth goal of the night was the game winner.

Schroeder kept fighting back for the remainder of the contest. They scored three of the next four to get within one (6-5). Jack Donnelly scored back to back goals with assists from Jonathan Kay and Balcaen for Schroeder. The fourth quarter started with Hilton scoring back to back goals to increase their lead back to three. Shawn Kimble and Timothy Santiago scored the Cadets. Schroeder never let the game go and scored three goals (two in extra-man offense) to tie the game with 1:37 remaining. Doser scored the game winner with an assist from Hunter Duford. In the cage for Hilton, Jarod Kimble finished with 20 saves (71%) and was a key factor in the Cadet win. In the first quarter alone he faced 19 shots (8s/2ga). Face off midfielder Max Chamberlain finished at 67% (14/21) and with a team leading 11 ground balls. Kimble added another six ground balls from between the pipes. For Schroeder, Powell recorded 2 saves. Defenseman Matthew Streit finished with 6 ground balls and 2 takes.