By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
They had been the class of Section V hockey all season, overpowering opponents with a quick-strike offense and suffocating defense en route to a 20-1 record and the top seed in Class A.
Along the way, they had gone nearly three months without a loss and came into Thursday’s sectional semifinal riding an 18-game winning streak.
Within the Hilton dressing room, there was no doubt this was finally going to be the year the Cadets not only reached the sectional title game for the first time in program history, but also brought home the championship block.
Except the Portside Royals had other ideas. Namely, that regular-season supremacy doesn’t always translate to post-season success.
Portside linemates Justin Pastorella and Landen Christ scored second-period goals and goalie Daniel Kucmerowski made 33 saves as the No. 4-seeded Royals stunned the Cadets 2-1 in front of a boisterous, overflow crowd at Lakeshore Hockey Arena.
“They were saying they don’t know who we are. To knock them off, this feels really amazing,” Christ said after the Royals earned a spot in Monday’s 5 p.m. championship game at RIT’s Gene Polisseni Center.
The underdog Royals (14-8) played big dog on Thursday by disrupting breakouts, clogging the neutral zone and playing the body whenever possible.
“I just told them, ‘Play your game, don’t try to raise it to another level, don’t try to be something you’re not,’ ” Portside coach Bill McGrath said.
They be-yourself approach worked well, although Portside did need to weather a first-period storm by Hilton. The Cadets outshot the Royals 13-4 in the first period but the game remained scoreless, thanks to Kucmerowski. He stopped all 13 shots by the Cadets, including two breakaways.
“Dan is an unbelievable goalie and he kept them in it in the first period,” Hilton coach Chris Monfiletto said.
All seemed fine for Hilton in the second period when Aiden Kennedy drove a shot from the right wing circle past Kucmerowski at 5:35 to provide a 1-0 lead.
But Portside answered on the next shift, with Pastorella converting a centering pass by Andrew Lamberton at 5:51. Talk about a momentum shift.
“We scored like a second after,” Kucmerowski said.
That instant retaliation was critical, because Hilton thrives in the moment. One goal often turns into four.
“Momentum-wise, they’re the most streaky team, they can score three, four goals just like that,” Kucmerowski said.
Said Monfiletto: “When they came back and punched us in the face by scoring, it was a wake-up call.”
But instead of their own push-back, the Cadets gave up the go-ahead goal just over four minutes later. Christ gained possession along the right wing boards and drove a low shot past the right leg of goalie Barrett Paolini at 10:04.
At that point, the Royals sensed a little panic and ramped up the pressure.
“This team (Hilton) hasn’t dealt with much adversity all year, they haven’t played from behind,” McGrath said.
That 2-1 deficit was just one goal, but it seemed like three. Portside’s physicality prevented Hilton from gaining speed in the neutral zone or generating extended O-zone pressure.
“Teams didn’t play physical against us because they couldn’t catch us,” Monfiletto said. “This was one of the first times we were caught.”
Monfiletto said that when the third period began, his team wasn’t overly concerned. The Cadets were confident they could score the equalizer. But Portside was relentless. The Royals gave up just one good scoring chance – that on an early power play – and then locked it down.
Over the final 7 minutes and 20 seconds, the Kucmerowski faced just two shots.
“It definitely felt like we were underdogs but we’re a different team in sectionals,” Christ said. “We know it’s our last life so we have to push it.”
Said McGrath: “This team has become a family. You see guys diving all over the ice to make plays, they celebrate each other. It’s all about the team.”
While Portside moved into the finals, Hilton was forced to cope with heartbreak. But Monfiletto said he made it clear to his team afterward that the playoff loss would not define their season.
“I told them there’s absolutely no reason to hang your heads when you walk out of this rink,” Monfiletto said. “What they accomplished this year, not many teams have ever done that.
“They weren’t just the best hockey team in Section V but the best collection of kids.”
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