Smith stands tall as Schroeder blanks Aquinas 1-0 in Class B semifinals

By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA

When it comes to ranking the elite goaltenders in Section V, Colin Smith of Webster Schroeder isn’t necessarily the first to be given consideration.

Or the second. Or the third. And maybe not even the fourth.

For that matter, there was a time when even Schroeder coach David Broussard wasn’t necessarily sure which of his senior goalies, Smith or Peyton Sanfilippo, would play the majority of games.

But now that the Section V playoffs are heading to championship Sunday, Smith is proving what he’s all about: Making big saves.

Very much in that magical, puck-stopping zone and putting up nothing but zeros, Smith denied all 40 shots he faced on Tuesday evening as third-seeded Schroeder upended No. 2 Aquinas 1-0 in the Class B semifinals at Lakeshore Hockey Arena.

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For those counting, that’s two shutouts in two playoff outings. Five days earlier, he and the Warriors blanked Geneseo/Avon/Livonia 8-0 in the quarterfinals.

While the Warriors did a whole lot of what they needed to do to slow the darting, high-scoring Li’l Irish attack, their goalie turned in a performance for the ages.

“It’s unreal how good he played,” said sophomore forward TJ Swinson, who scored the game’s only goal two minutes into the second period. “He’s a goalie that a lot of people sleep on. They talk about a lot of other goalies but they don’t go for Colin Smith of Webster Schroeder. He’s just putting up shutouts in sectionals.”

In winning, the Warriors (12-9-1) advanced to the Class B title game for the first time since 2014, when they won the state tournament. Schroeder will play top-seeded Churchville-Chili, a 5-2 winner over Canandaigua, at 4 p.m. Sunday at Wegmans Ice Arena on the SUNY Brockport campus.

Tuesday’s victory also provided a measure of revenge. A year ago, almost to the day, Aquinas defeated Schroeder 6-5 in overtime on the same rink in the Class B semifinals.

With a solid core returning, bettering last year’s accomplishments certainly was possible for the Warriors.

“I kept telling the guys during the season that they need to believe in themselves because they are contenders,” Broussard said.

For the Li’l Irish (13-8-1), the loss stung badly. They reached the title game a year earlier before losing 4-2 to Webster Thomas. On Tuesday, they did everything necessary to win – except figure out how to score on Smith.

“These are easier to swallow when you know the guys left it all out there,” Aquinas coach Chuck Dossier said. “It was a great hockey game. Obviously you want to be on the other end, but I’m super proud of my boys.”

Smith was very much why the Aquinas season ended. He made 10 saves in the first period, 15 in the second and another 15 in the third. At least six were exceptional stops, whether it was on point-blank rebound tries, deep-slot deflections or one-timers from prime scoring areas.

“Our coach always tells me, ‘See puck, stop puck,’ that’s really all he asks of me and I try to do my best to do that,” Smith said. “It helps being 6-4; I can cover more room than the average goalie.”

It also helps when the confidence in the team defense is high. The Li’l Irish had the game’s only four power plays, including two in the third period. Yet the couldn’t score.

“I truthfully believe we have one of the best penalty killing teams in Section V,” Smith said. “And they were playing so well as a team, always talking, saying, ‘I got high, I got low, I got left, I got whatever.’ ”

However, as the old adage goes, “Your goalie has to be your best penalty killer,” Broussard said. “Colin is just dialed in. He cares so much. He cares about the team, he doesn’t want to let his teammates down.”

The Warriors were able to play from a position of strength – with the lead – for the final 32 minutes, thanks to the work of Swinson and Aiden Baldwin early in the second period.

Baldwin forechecked aggressively as Aquinas freshman defenseman Ares Miller looked to move the puck out of the defensive zone. Baldwin was able to knock the puck free and Swinson swooped in, picked it up, angled into the middle of the slot and then fired a wrist shot high into the left side of the net.

A year earlier, Miller was the OT hero, completing his first high school hat trick by scoring the winning goal 44 seconds into the extra period.

“I’m good buddies with him,” Swinson said. “He’s got a lot of good years to play.”

Swinson’s shot was the only one of 28 by Schroeder that eluded Aquinas goalie Andrew Gatti. He, too, made an inordinate number of top-notch saves.

“It really was a great hockey game,” Dossier said. “I can’t say enough about the leadership we had all year from Iesa Mohammed, Connor Mangone, Connor Carey and Andrew Gatti.