BY JONATHAN SKUZA
SCOTTSVILLE, N.Y.– The old saying goes it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.
Churchville-Chili erased a three-goal deficit to come back and win 6-3 over Webster Thomas Tuesday evening.
“It’s resiliency,” Churchville-Chili’s head coach Brian Young said of the comeback. “When we face adversity, we can overcome it. We’ve been in this situation a couple of times, and we’ve been successful in coming back, a few times we didn’t but, we learned from those times that we really didn’t. We really put the effort in there, especially in the second.”
After trailing 3-0, Parker Farnham got the Saints on the board with four seconds to go in the period. The Farnham goal was the turning of the game for Churchville.
The Saints took advantage of five powerplay chances and capitalized on three in the second period.
Farnham struck for the first powerplay goal of the period with a nice pass from Gavin Carr with just under six minutes to go. Tyler Eberhart scored the second man-advantage goal just over a minute after Farnham’s with a one-time marker set up by Carr. Farnham completed the hat trick with another powerplay tally with just over a minute to go in the period. Max McKay and Carr picked up assists on the goal.
“A lot of times when your players start putting up big points and they become point leaders, they get a little selfish and Parker has not done that, he’s never done that,” Young said of Farnham. “He’s always been committed to being the team guy, he wants to move the puck and you’re gonna get points whether you pass it or you score the goal.”
The goal also set a new Churchville-Chili school record for goals in a season. Farnham has 25 goals on the season. He broke teammate Max McKay’s record of 24 goals set last season.
“It’s a great accomplishment,” Farnham said of breaking the school record. “Obviously, we want more and it’s an individual accomplishment, but we’re here for the team and the end goal is we want a sectional title.”
McKay added an insurance goal 77 seconds into the third period. Eberhart picked up an assist.
Jesse Prue tipped a bouncing puck past Webster Thomas’ goalie Jackson Gruttadauria for his first goal in six games. Carter Dovidio and Carr set up the Prue goal late in the third.
Prue last found the back of the net on January 10th against Canandaigua.
Carr finished the night with four assists reaching a new season high.
“I just always felt like why not pass the puck,” Carr said of his ability to move the puck. “Share the wealth, not always take it yourself sometimes, it’s a team sport. You got to come together. It’s not all individual.”
“He’s a disher,” Young said of Carr. “He wants to move the puck around. He makes plays happen and that’s as a defenseman. Your key is to move the puck up to the forwards and then kind of let them get in and do the thing but he’s all over the ice.”
The Saints finished 3-6 on the powerplay for the evening while the Titans finished 0-2.
“The powerplay is one of those things that will be your best friend come Sectional time,” Young said of his powerplay’s performance. “We’ve really spent some time focusing in on it. We haven’t changed it. That’s one of the things that’s different from years past. It wasn’t working, so we changed it. Eventually what you find out is what you started with probably would have worked if you just spent the time on it.”
Despite the defeat, Webster Thomas started off the game with a dominant first period. Brennan Abate scored his first varsity goal with a tip in front of the net to give Webster Thomas a 1-0 under two minutes into the contest.
Teddy Paprocki ripped a shot just outside the blue line that beat Churchville’s goalie Tristan Harris for his first varsity goal. The goal came with just under six minutes to go in the first.
With just over a minute remaining in the period, Jack Burns found a loose puck in front of the net and he buried it to give the Titans a 3-0 lead before the period expired.
Churchville-Chili (14-3-1) will go on the road one last time this season as they will take on Canandaigua on February 7.
Webster Thomas (5-7-4) will look to end its losing streak as they welcome Canandaigua on February 3.
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