By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
Tournaments can be cruel, as the Aquinas Institute hockey team learned on Saturday.
One day you’re on top of the world, basking in the afterglow of accomplishment. That was the Lil’ Irish on Monday after winning the school’s first Section V hockey title in 19 years.
Five days later, you’re distraught, trying to make sense of a sudden, heart-breaking end to a season that for weeks and months had been so magical.
That was the Li’l Irish on Saturday afternoon, when they fired 51 shots on goal – essentially a shot a minute – but lost 4-1 to the Rye Garnets in the state Division I quarterfinals at Lakeshore Hockey Arena.
“Finally winning a sectional title meant a lot but we knew we couldn’t live on that high forever, we had to accomplish something else,” senior captain Caleb Wood said after the final game of a 17-5-2 season.
They were denied that something else, however, by Rye junior goalie Fernando Mosquera. He made 50 saves, including 41 through the first two periods, and backstopped the Garnets (Section I) into the state Final Four.
“He was absolutely lights-out,” said AQ assistant coach Ryan Shannon, who served as head coach after a medical issue sidelined Chuck Dossier in the morning. “He was the MVP.”
Mosquera’s play from the outset said that it was going to be his day. Just over five minutes into the game, Aquinas sophomore forward Louie Ferrari weaved to open space in the slot and fired on goal, only to see his Grade-A scoring chance turned aside by Mosquera.
By the time the first period ended, Aquinas had piled up 20 shots (to Rye’s 11) but the scoreboard read 1-0 in favor of Rye.
The Garnets (17-3-3) used a power play to score the only goal of the period, with sophomore forward Colin Nigro burying a Will Nejadik centering pass at 11:56.
Mosquera then put on a goalie clinic for the first 12 minutes of the second period. He faced 18 shots – with at least eight high-danger chances – and yet the score was still 1-0.
Over that span he made pretty much every type of save imaginable.
Breakaway save? Check, denying Wood at 1:55.
Kick save? Check, getting his right skate on Anthony Conte’s shot from the deep slot at 5:30.
Blocker save? Of course, the best of which may have been on Ryan Carmody from the slot at 8:35.
Glove save? Many, the best of which may have been on Wood’s shot from slot at 9:43.
Shoulder save? Yep, blocking what looked like a sure top-shelf, short-side goal by Jonathan Blankenberg at 11:05.
“You’re going to run into hot goalies when you move down the line (in the playoffs),” Wood said.
Still, that doesn’t mean they can’t be beaten, Wood reasoned. A member of the AQ varsity since eighth grade, he unfairly thought he should have done more on Saturday.
His thoughts in the moments immediately after the final buzzer, when he knelt by himself on the ice:
“What could I have done better for my team? If I had scored on that breakaway, it might have been different,” Wood said. “Just the what-ifs.”
Rye then took control with a pair of goals in the final 4:38 of the second period. Senior forward Jamie Morris scored a short-handed goal off a two-on-one break at 12:22, then junior defenseman joined the fast-break rush out of the Rye zone to finish the play at 14:15 for a 3-0 lead.
Carmody finally beat Mosquera on a power play 4:21 into the third period but Rye was able to hold off sustained pressure by the Lil’ Irish until senior forward Ryan Draddy clinched victory with an empty-net goal with 62 seconds remaining.
In their dressing room afterward, the Lil’ Irish were reminded of all they had accomplished during the season by Dossier, who connected with them by speaker phone. Dossier also used the same method to deliver the pre-game message, Shannon said.
“We’re so proud of these guys and the effort they put in on a daily basis,” Shannon said. “The brotherhood these guys have is unmatched.”
Which is why the abrupt end to the season was so crushing.
“There’s a lot of pride,” Wood said, “putting on this maroon and white every day.”
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