
HFL Wins in Class C
June 2, 2025 - HFL returned to the Sectional Finals for the fifth straight year and won their 3rd straight Championship with a 19-7 win over the top seeded Pal-Mac Red Raiders. The Red Raiders came into this afternoon’s contest undefeated during the regular season and looking for revenge from their Sectional loss last year to the Cougars. This win was their 4th Championship in program history. Leading the charge was sophomore Grady Goodberlet who finished with 6g-2a and was named Class C All Tournament MVP. Joining him on the All Tournament team from HFL were Quinn Kailbourne (2g-4a) and Marco Vangoechea (6g-1a). The Red Raiders scoring was led by Jackson Dennie (3g), Reid Diehl (1g-2a) and Brandon Dennie (1g-2a). Jackson Dennie and Diehl were
both named to the All Tournament Team for Pal-Mac. Face-off midfielder Luke VanGorden and defenseman Henry Beaton rounded out the Red Raider’s on the All Tournament Team. HFL Defenseman and face-off man Sam Jokl was also named to the team for both his defensive performance an his ability to blunt VanGorden at the draw through much of the first half. In the cage for the Cougars, Jason Bennett finished with 8 saves and was also named to the team. Two players were named to the All Tournament team from the Semi-Final match-ups: Max Heieck (Geneva) and Shane Coleman (Wayne).
The Cougars came out strong, scoring five goals in the opening quarter and holding Pal-Mac scoreless for 13 and a half minutes. Goodberlet and Vengoechea each scored two unassisted goals in the opening stretch with Jackson Coon assisting Tanner Olin with a feed to crease as the fifth goal. The Red Raiders scored their first goal to open the second quarter. J. Dennie scored off a fast-break with a feed from Carson Lich. Goodberlet added another goal after intercepting the ball on a broken clear and scoring. Brandon Dennie scored the second Pal-Mac goal with an inside feed from Diehl to the crease with 8:06 remaining on the clock. HFL continued their scoring adding five more goals before the end of the half. The Cougars led 11-3 going into halftime.
In the third quarter, B. Dennie started off with back to back assists. The first to Diehl on the crease and the second on a fast-break to Jacob Naugle. Once again, HFL went on a scoring streak and added another four. Vengoechea scored another pair, this time with assisted goals, the first from Kailbourne and the second from Cash Arena. Pal-Mac’s last goal of the third quarter came with 1:26 on the clock with a man-up goal by J. Dennie. HFL held a ten goal lead (16-6) going into the final quarter. In the fourth quarter, J. Dennie scored another fast-break goal with Thomas assisting. Coon scored his third goal of the night with a loose ball pick-up right on the crease. Goodberlet finished out the game with two goals of his own. The first unassisted on a midrange outside shot and the second with a cross crease feed from Kailbourne.
HFL moves into the Sub-regional match-up of the State Tournament where they will face Section VI Champion Hamburg on Wednesday at 5:00 pm at Canandaigua Academy. Hamburg (12-6) played three Section V teams this year with losses to Thomas (7-8), Penn Yan (6-15) and Brighton (3-17). The Cougars have faced Hamburg four times since 2003, with the most recent contest being in 2009 when they lost 11-0 in the State Tournament. . [ Story and BOX SCORE]