By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
It has been nine years, nine long years, since the McQuaid Jesuit Knights advanced to the state hockey tournament.
Yet in setting goals for the season, this McQuaid team aimed high. They reached one key benchmark on Monday when they defeated Portside for the Section V Class A championship.
They reached another on Saturday afternoon by advancing to the state Final Four.
Liam Palmer scored a right-place, right-time goal to break a scoreless tie early in the third period and Lou Zaari extended the lead 5:27 later as McQuaid knocked off Ithaca 2-1 in the state regionals at Rochester Institute of Technology’s Gene Polisseni Center.
“We set goals from Day 1 and we have high expectations because we’re a competitive team,” Zaari said after the Knights improved to 19-5. “We know our skill level and where we should be.”
Where they will be at 9 a.m. this coming Saturday is the LECOM Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo, facing off against Section VI champion Orchard Park in the state Division 1 semifinals. Orchard Park used a third-period goal to edge Section III champ West Genesee of Section 1-0 on Saturday.
McQuaid and Ithaca (Section IV) also played two scoreless periods before the Knights, despite plenty of chances in the first 34 minutes, finally took the lead 3:32 into the third.
And it wasn’t pretty. Jack Callery maneuvered right to left across the high slot, wanting to shoot but not finding an open lane. Twice he avoided defenders before finally wristing the puck toward the net.
The shot deflected off at least one stick before hitting Palmer in the right thigh, skipping up and over goalie Blake Carlisle dropping into the crease and slithering across the goal line.
“It hit a couple things and then hit my leg, went up in the air and went in,” Palmer said. “Puck luck is definitely a thing.”
So is elation produced by athletic achievement with teammates.
“It feels amazing,” Palmer said. “No words can describe it.”
The goal gave the Knights an instant boost, though they had been ultra confident in how they were playing despite the 0-0 score after two periods.
“It was 0-0 but we had the momentum and obviously with Gonzo (goalie Anthony Gonzalez) in net, we have trust in him,” Callery said.
The lead became 2-0 at 8:59 when Eli Wiegand weaved in from the point and fired on goal. Carlisle made the save but Zaari, charging into the deep slot, swatted home the rebound.
The goal came after a change in the game plan. The Little Red had taken away time and space down low and the Knights weren’t creating many Grade-A scoring chances.
“That’s why we switched strategies and started working it from up top and getting it to the net,” Zaari said.
The 2-0 lead did not, however, dissuade Ithaca. The Little Red pulled Carlisle in favor of a sixth attacker with three minutes to play and a faceoff in the McQuaid zone. They needed just six seconds to score, converting a faceoff win into a goal by Cameron Gaines.
Mason Gabriel wristed a shot/pass into the left of the slot and Gaines redirected it just inside the left post.
But the Knights didn’t panic. They methodically killed off the final 2:54 and earned a berth in the Final Four.
“We have confidence in our team to lock it down,” Callery said.
That belief has built as the season has gone along, and as different players have stepped up at different times.
“Each and every guy, every single kid, has a role and they know it,” said coach Joe Dugan, an assistant coach for the 2015 state championship team. “If you’re going to get there, you need to do the right things and get a little puck luck and we’ve done both.”
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