SLC "LARRIES" - WILLIAMSVILLE EAST "FLAMES" HOCKEY WIN 2-3
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Larries edged 3-2 by Williamsville East in D II regional game at Tri-Town Community Center. BRASHER FALLS - A season to remember for the St. Lawrence Central hockey ended in heartbreak Saturday night when Williamsville East scored twice in the final half of the third period to hand the Larries their only regulation time loss of the season.
The 3-2 loss at the Tri-Town Community Center ended the team’s dream of advancing to Utica with the opportunity to play for a state title and marked the conclusion of the careers of a senior class that had been part of two sectional titles in the past three years. The Larries entered the state playoffs ranked number one in the state with the Flames from the Buffalo-area ranked number two.
Williamsville East had a strong start and dominated the game’s first two shifts, and Mike Steffan gave the visitors an early 1-0 lead when he was left alone on the right side of the crease and had nothing but an empty net to shoot at when he took a feed from Alex Finley 65 seconds into the contest. Chris Winiecki also drew an assist on the play.
“We definitely wanted to get a quick start. We have 11 kids on our team that lost this game (regionals) last year. They were excited about this game,” Coach Mike Torrillo said. “And then we had to weather the end of the period when they took it to us pretty good. St. Lawrence Central Coach Mickey Locke said he felt his team started to change the momentum in the middle of the opening period. “I thought we found our game midway through the first period. We couldn’t bury one on them and then we took a couple of penalties,” he said, referring to a penalty called at the buzzer ending the first period.
The challenge grew 1:04 into the second period when the Larries went down two men for 26 seconds. The Laries successfully killed off both penalties. “We had a great kill, and I was hoping we would get some energy,” Locke said.
But there was no scoring in the second period, thanks in no small part to St. Lawrence Central goalie Nate Burnett’s saves on three breakways. “Nate was excellent for us again tonight as he has been all year, his whole career,” Locke said.
The Larries brought the barn alive early in the final stanza when a Joe Dimatteo shot from the right point found the back of the net 1:11 seconds into the third period. Ian Bressett was credited with the goal for getting a stick on the shot. Mark Crump also drew an assist for making a tape to tape pass to DiMatteo at the blueline.
Senior forward Kody Kocsis converted on a scamble down low to give St. Lawrence Central its only lead of the night at the 7:33 mark of the third period. Lukas Arquiett and Drew Rose assisted on the go ahead goal.
But shortly after the echoes of the S-L-C chant had died down in the building the Flames had evened the game at 2-2. An unforced icing led to a faceoff in the left wing circle that set the stage for the tying goal. Steffan notched his second tally of the night off a feed from Finley just 36 seconds after the Larries had taken the lead,
“That’s been the story of our team all season. It was 2-1 in this place, it was crazy, but this is a very confident team,” Torillo said.
Jack Kelly then sent the visitors to the DII semi-finals next weekend in Utica when he scored with 2:55 left in the game. He beat Burnett with a quick shot from the slot, where he had been left alone after a momentary defensive zone lapse by St. Lawrence Central.
Kelly, who was celebrating his birthday Saturday, said the Flames stayed positive after falling behind 2-1. “Everybody on the bench was picking everyone up, making sure everyone was on the same page,” he said.
And then with overtime starting to loom on the horizon Kelly took advantage of the opportunity to give himself a birthday present. “I got the puck in the zone, saw the opening and shot it high right side,” he recalled.
St. Lawrence Central battled in the game’s final 3 minutes but were unable to beat Williamsville East netminder Max Battistoni, even after pulling its own goalie for the most of the game’s final 81 seconds. The game effectively ended with 9 seconds left in he game when a scrum behind the Williamsville East left the Larries shorthanded and the game’s final faceoff deep in the St. Lawrence Central zone.
“We shortened our bench in the third period. We left it all on the ice tonight, that’s for sure,” Locke said of his club that finished the season 20-3, with two of the losses coming in overtime.
“They (Williamsville East) are certainly a quality team. They are very, very quick. There were times tonight when we just didn’t move the puck effectively against their speed. We didn’t get quite enough traffic in front of their goalie. We also had a couple of great opportunities when we didn’t hit the net,” Locke said as he reflected on his team’s one goal loss.
Locke’s post-game thoughts were with his six seniors - Arquiett, Kocsis, Nate Stickney, DiMatteo, Owen Houle and Burnett, most of whom were still sitting quietly at their stalls in the locker room long after the game’s final whistle had blown.
“They are very, very disappointed. They put a lot of effort into it tonight. But they have to be proud of what they accomplished over their careers - two sectional titles, a trip to the Final 4,” he said.
Torillo said St. Lawrence Central lived up to its billing as one of the top teams in the state. “I’m not much for the state rankings, but if they are right it sucks we are not playing in Utica. It was a great game. This (SLC) was a heck of a hockey team,” according to the Williamsville East coach.
Williamsville East 3 St. Lawrence Central 2
Period 1:
1. Wm. East, 1:05, Steffan-Finley, Winiecki.
Period 2:
No Scoring.
Period 3:
2. SLC, 1:11, Bressett-DiMatteo, Crump. 3. SLC, 7:33, Kocsis-Arquiett, Rose. 4. Wm. East, 8:09, Steffan-Finley. 5. Wm. East, 12:05, Kelly-Winiecki.
Saves:
Battistoni (Wm. East): 15-10-11, 36 saves
Burnett (SLC) 13-16-12, 41 saves.
Powerplays:
SLC 0-4. Wm. East 0-5
Records:
Williamsville East: 21-2. St. Lawrence Central: 20-3.
Read MoreLarries edged 3-2 by Williamsville East in D II regional game at Tri-Town Community Center. BRASHER FALLS - A season to remember for the St. Lawrence Central hockey ended in heartbreak Saturday night when Williamsville East scored twice in the final half of the third period to hand the Larries their only regulation time loss of the season.
The 3-2 loss at the Tri-Town Community Center ended the team’s dream of advancing to Utica with the opportunity to play for a state title and marked the conclusion of the careers of a senior class that had been part of two sectional titles in the past three years. The Larries entered the state playoffs ranked number one in the state with the Flames from the Buffalo-area ranked number two.
Williamsville East had a strong start and dominated the game’s first two shifts, and Mike Steffan gave the visitors an early 1-0 lead when he was left alone on the right side of the crease and had nothing but an empty net to shoot at when he took a feed from Alex Finley 65 seconds into the contest. Chris Winiecki also drew an assist on the play.
“We definitely wanted to get a quick start. We have 11 kids on our team that lost this game (regionals) last year. They were excited about this game,” Coach Mike Torrillo said. “And then we had to weather the end of the period when they took it to us pretty good. St. Lawrence Central Coach Mickey Locke said he felt his team started to change the momentum in the middle of the opening period. “I thought we found our game midway through the first period. We couldn’t bury one on them and then we took a couple of penalties,” he said, referring to a penalty called at the buzzer ending the first period.
The challenge grew 1:04 into the second period when the Larries went down two men for 26 seconds. The Laries successfully killed off both penalties. “We had a great kill, and I was hoping we would get some energy,” Locke said.
But there was no scoring in the second period, thanks in no small part to St. Lawrence Central goalie Nate Burnett’s saves on three breakways. “Nate was excellent for us again tonight as he has been all year, his whole career,” Locke said.
The Larries brought the barn alive early in the final stanza when a Joe Dimatteo shot from the right point found the back of the net 1:11 seconds into the third period. Ian Bressett was credited with the goal for getting a stick on the shot. Mark Crump also drew an assist for making a tape to tape pass to DiMatteo at the blueline.
Senior forward Kody Kocsis converted on a scamble down low to give St. Lawrence Central its only lead of the night at the 7:33 mark of the third period. Lukas Arquiett and Drew Rose assisted on the go ahead goal.
But shortly after the echoes of the S-L-C chant had died down in the building the Flames had evened the game at 2-2. An unforced icing led to a faceoff in the left wing circle that set the stage for the tying goal. Steffan notched his second tally of the night off a feed from Finley just 36 seconds after the Larries had taken the lead,
“That’s been the story of our team all season. It was 2-1 in this place, it was crazy, but this is a very confident team,” Torillo said.
Jack Kelly then sent the visitors to the DII semi-finals next weekend in Utica when he scored with 2:55 left in the game. He beat Burnett with a quick shot from the slot, where he had been left alone after a momentary defensive zone lapse by St. Lawrence Central.
Kelly, who was celebrating his birthday Saturday, said the Flames stayed positive after falling behind 2-1. “Everybody on the bench was picking everyone up, making sure everyone was on the same page,” he said.
And then with overtime starting to loom on the horizon Kelly took advantage of the opportunity to give himself a birthday present. “I got the puck in the zone, saw the opening and shot it high right side,” he recalled.
St. Lawrence Central battled in the game’s final 3 minutes but were unable to beat Williamsville East netminder Max Battistoni, even after pulling its own goalie for the most of the game’s final 81 seconds. The game effectively ended with 9 seconds left in he game when a scrum behind the Williamsville East left the Larries shorthanded and the game’s final faceoff deep in the St. Lawrence Central zone.
“We shortened our bench in the third period. We left it all on the ice tonight, that’s for sure,” Locke said of his club that finished the season 20-3, with two of the losses coming in overtime.
“They (Williamsville East) are certainly a quality team. They are very, very quick. There were times tonight when we just didn’t move the puck effectively against their speed. We didn’t get quite enough traffic in front of their goalie. We also had a couple of great opportunities when we didn’t hit the net,” Locke said as he reflected on his team’s one goal loss.
Locke’s post-game thoughts were with his six seniors - Arquiett, Kocsis, Nate Stickney, DiMatteo, Owen Houle and Burnett, most of whom were still sitting quietly at their stalls in the locker room long after the game’s final whistle had blown.
“They are very, very disappointed. They put a lot of effort into it tonight. But they have to be proud of what they accomplished over their careers - two sectional titles, a trip to the Final 4,” he said.
Torillo said St. Lawrence Central lived up to its billing as one of the top teams in the state. “I’m not much for the state rankings, but if they are right it sucks we are not playing in Utica. It was a great game. This (SLC) was a heck of a hockey team,” according to the Williamsville East coach.
Williamsville East 3 St. Lawrence Central 2
Period 1:
1. Wm. East, 1:05, Steffan-Finley, Winiecki.
Period 2:
No Scoring.
Period 3:
2. SLC, 1:11, Bressett-DiMatteo, Crump. 3. SLC, 7:33, Kocsis-Arquiett, Rose. 4. Wm. East, 8:09, Steffan-Finley. 5. Wm. East, 12:05, Kelly-Winiecki.
Saves:
Battistoni (Wm. East): 15-10-11, 36 saves
Burnett (SLC) 13-16-12, 41 saves.
Powerplays:
SLC 0-4. Wm. East 0-5
Records:
Williamsville East: 21-2. St. Lawrence Central: 20-3.
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