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By TIM IRVING
If the Webster Thomas hockey team was rusty after a 12-day lay-off between games, it didn’t show.
The Titans scored two minutes into the game and turned a 3-0 first period lead into a 4-0 victory over Canandaigua in the Class B Sectional semifinals at Webster Ice Arena on Wednesday.
Top-seeded Thomas faces number two seed Aquinas in the finals at SUNY Brockport on Sunday at 1pm.
The Titans spent most of the game in the Braves zone with a relentless forecheck. Two minutes into the first period, defenseman Mike Swartzman skated up from the point and circled the net and his defensive partner, Sam Nesbitt went to the front for the goal, the first for Thomas since February 11th in their regular season finale against Penfield.
“Usually not what you’re looking to do, “Nesbitt said about both defensemen being in deep. “Mike slid me that pass and I buried on it. Really exciting in a Sectional game.”
It remained a 1-0 lead, largely due to a couple of solid saves from Canandaigua starting goalie Charlie Fuller. But with 2:13 to play in the opening period, Nesbitt’s shot from the left point found it’s way through and made it 2-0.
Off the ensuing face off, Jack Stappenbeck got in alone and 16 seconds later, it was 3-0.
“You gotta play 200 feet now in playoffs, “said Webster Thomas head coach Dave Evans. “All of our lines were going and reading off guys and making good decisions.”
The Titans kept the pedal down in the second period, Ethan Stappenbeck p hit Dylan LaChance for a screened shot and a 4-0 lead with just four minutes gone in the frame.
The forecheck combined with the shot-blocking of the Titans as a team kept the Braves off of Titans goalie Jackson Gruttadauria until the third when the junior stopped all ten Canandaigua shots for his second shutout of the year.
“He’s so trustworthy. You know he’s gonna stop a majority of the pucks, he’s got your back. You can make a mistake once in awhile and he’s got your back,” Nesbitt said of his teammate.
The Titans will play in their 11th Sectional Final on Sunday. Two years ago, they were a day away from going to Buffalo for the State semifinals when COVID shut everything down.
Evans said, “It’s something that’ll never be finished, always a question mark but a lot of other things happened so, missing a hockey game when a lot of lives have been affected, we’ve gotta move on.”
Nesbitt added, “All the boys are excited. It’s my first Sectional final. Everyone’s got a great attitude right now and it’s been fun.”
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