By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
With a resumé that includes four seasons on the varsity hockey team, the Pittsford Panthers know they can count on senior goalie Aden Brown to make big saves.
They also know they can rely on junior forward David Pollard to score goals. After all, he entered Monday’s Section V Class A championship game with 16 for the season.
What the Panthers didn’t necessarily know: that Pollard’s twin brother, Adam, and freshman Ryan Schmalstitch could also produce on the big stage.
They learned that on Monday evening, however, when the third-seeded Panthers defeated the No. 4 Portside Royals 4-1 at RIT’s Gene Polisseni Center.
Adam Pollard scored the first goal and assisted on the go-ahead goal by his brother while Schmalstitch scored the game-breaking third goal as the Panthers (18-3-2) won their second sectional title in three years and sixth in the past decade.
“I won it my freshman year and to get the win this year with a different group is special,” David Pollard said.
David Pollard’s goal at 3:14 of the third period broke a 1-1 tie, Schmalstitch pushed the lead to 3-1 at 11:10 and senior defenseman Drew Ricketts provided clinching insurance with an empty-net goal with 59.9 seconds remaining as Pittsford avenged last year’s 4-1 semifinal loss to the Royals.
In winning, the Panthers earned a trip to Binghamton for the state quarterfinals. They will play Section IV champion Ithaca at 4 p.m. at Broome Community College. Pittsford defeated visiting Ithaca 3-2 on Dec. 19.
“It feels great to be back in the sectional (championship) column and maybe get a chance to look forward to going to states,” Adam Pollard said.
For Portside (14-9), the sectional tournament mirrored last season. A year ago, the Royals upended top-seeded Pittsford in the semifinals only to lose 4-2 to McQuaid in the finals. This year, the Royals upset No. 1 Hilton 2-1 in the semifinals before again falling short in the title game.
“When we lost last year I told the boys we’d be back here and we were,” Portside coach Billy McGrath said. “For this senior class to play in back-to-back championship games, that says a lot about their character.”
Monday’s first period was scoreless, largely because of Brown but especially Portside senior goalie Dan Kucmerowski. His 10 saves included a breakaway stop on David Pollard before twice denying Panthers top gun Keegan Ahern (20 goals).
Adam Pollard finally solved the goalie riddle 6:32 into the second period. His brother wristed a waist-high shot from the left-wing half wall and Adam was at the top of the crease to deflect it out of midair before sweeping home the rebound.
“Adam has really earned his stripes,” Pittsford first-year coach Rory Foster said.
Portside retaliated when senior center Justin Pastorella, skating through the deep slot, redirected a point shot by Anthony Ferris and the second period ended 1-1.
David Pollard then put Pittsford back on top on what in reality wasn’t anywhere near a Grade-A scoring chance. Taking a pass from Adam on the right wing, he moved toward the circle before firing a low shot to the far side.
Kucmerowski moved his stick across the push the shot off to the wing but the puck caromed oddly off the blade and directly into the top corner of the net.
For a goalie who had made so many clutch saves throughout the season and especially in the playoffs, the goal hardly seemed fair.
“It’s hockey though,” McGrath said. “A lot of people call it puck luck and it’s true. Sometimes the bounce goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t.”
The goal certainly proved again the old adage no shot is a bad shot.
“Any shot’s a good shot in a championship game because anything can happen,” David Pollard said.
Brown and the Panthers protected that one goal until Schmalstitch provided insurance with 5:50 remaining, scoring just his second goal of the season.
Charles Hezel, the scoring hero in Pittsford’s 1-0 double-overtime semifinal victory over McQuaid, took Casey Reagan’s outlet pass and sped away with Schmalstitch on a two-on-one fast break. Kucmerowski stopped Hezel’s shot but Schmalstitch buried the rebound.
The first goal came from a player with just three goals in 21 games. The third was scored by a freshman with just one goal in 19 games.
“If you look down the stat sheet you may think that those guys aren’t as good as some of the other players, but they’re fantastic hockey players,” Foster said. “They contribute every night.”
Said Brown: “That’s one of our strengths, we have such a deep lineup.
In three sectional games, Brown allowed just two goals, with the double-overtime shutout over McQuaid sandwiched between a 6-1 quarterfinal victory over Greece and the 4-1 title game triumph.
“Honestly this was just another game,” Brown said of his mental approach. “Obviously it’s the championship game but I kind of like to think of it as another game and just take it shot by shot and be there for the team.”
While the Panthers move on to play Ithaca, Portside says farewell to 10 seniors who set a strong foundation during their time in the combined Brockport/Spencerport program.
“This senior group created the template,” McGrath said.
Leave a Reply