BY JONATHAN SKUZA
PERINTON, N.Y. — As they say, to be the best, you have to beat the best.
For third-seeded Aquinas that was the case Wednesday evening, as they defeated second seed and defending Class B champions Victor 4-3 in a tight contest for their first title game berth since 2022.
”Our guys were prepared,” Aquinas head coach Chuck Dossier said. “We’ve done a lot of little things that has got us to this point.”
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The Li’l Irish brought speed, physicality, and timely defense Wednesday evening as they had an answer for everything Victor threw their way.
The Blue Devils struck first in the contest late in the first period when Oliver Kowal buried a shot home in front of the net with an assist from Joey Hellinger.
Not even a minute later, Aquinas answered with an unassisted power play goal from Tyler Muir. Two minutes after that, Charlie Shannon gave the Li’l Irish the lead with 61 seconds remaining in the opening frame.
“Getting on the board right after them is crucial,” Muir said. “The guys on the bench feed off of that and I even think we need to feed off the crowd as well.”
Victor came out of the intermission and dominated the early half of the second period with some grade A chances. Their hard work payed off when Kelton Everett split two Li’l Irish defenders for a breakaway goal to tie the contest.
It was 66 seconds after that Aquinas answered when Bryce Miller found the back of the net from the point after Church Dossier won the face-off. Steve Bell earned an assist on the goal.
In the decisive third period, Victor tied the game nearly four minutes in when Eli Weingart’s shot squeaked by and into the back of the net. AJ Finocchario and Collin Schoeneman earned assists on the tying goal.
Then 19 seconds later Ryan Carmody scored the eventual game-winner after he ripped home a corner pass from Shannon from the top of the right face-off circle. Miller earned a helper on the game-deciding tally.
”We were all so happy,” Carmody said. “The game was not done yet, we had to keep battling, but we were overcome with joy and happiness.”
Aquinas’ goalie Reagan Gray stood tall for his team after Carmody’s goal, stopping the last seven shots he faced to send the Li’l Irish to the Class B title game.
”Honestly, it was never about how I was playing the shot,” Gray said. “It was who I was doing it for and that was family, who I would go to war for them. I knew that even if I gave one up, they would get one back.”
Along with strong goaltending, Aquinas defenseman stood tall in crunch time by blocking shots and passes to help make Gray’s night easier.
“You obviously have to have a goalie that can make some saves,” Dossier said. “He has to make some saves to keep you in the game. He did that tonight. Our guys had that mentality of nothing was going to get through. They made all kinds of different blocks and saves. It was a team effort.”
Despite the small sample size, special teams played a part in Wednesday’s contest as Aquinas finished a perfect 2-for-2 on the penalty kill and 1-for-2 with the man-advantage.
For Victor, they fought all contest long and even out shot the Li’l Irish in the final two periods and overall with a final shot total of 30-26. The Blue Devils pushed until the final buzzer that included the final 96 seconds when they pulled their goalie for the extra attacker but, just fell short of a chance to defend their crown.
”The season was outstanding,” Victor’s head coach Michael Ferreri said. “Our kids competed at a high level. Trying to come back and defend your sectional championship is hard. We got this feeling that every time we stepped on to the ice, that everybody was gunning for us, but I am so proud of the effort.”
Aquinas will now face undefeated top seed Webster Schroeder who is looking to claim its second Class B championship in the last four years. The two teams will face off on Monday, March 2 at 5 p.m. at the Gene Polisseni Center on the campus of RIT.
”They’re obviously a great team,” Dossier said. “You still got to play the game. We’re gonna prepare, have a good week and I’m excited for Monday.”
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