NCCC falls in UNYCHL Tier 1 title game

Article Submitted By Assistant Coach Kevin Beato

UNYCHL Tier I Semifinals: Niagara CCC 5, Binghamton University 4 (OT)

After beating the No. 1 team in the Collegiate Hockey Federation in the quarterfinals, Niagara County Community College (ranked 15th) faced off against the No. 4 team in the Binghamton University Bearcats. Binghamton University brought speed to the ice and controlled play for most of the game, but NCCC prevailed, earning its second straight overtime win.

Binghamton University was dominating the puck possession battle early and found themselves up 2-0 off of goals by Cory Foster and Jack Mroczka, who scored 12 seconds apart. Captain Chuckie Schmidl collected a loose puck in the slot and fired it past Binghamton goaltender Adam Bloodgood to pull NCCC to within 1. Late in the first, Will Casullo received the stretch pass from Gavin Cerrillo and scored on a breakaway to tie it going into the intermission. Jack O'Bryan gave the Bearcats the lead again in the second period with a shot from the blue line. Trevor Goodyear, goaltender for the Thunderwolves, couldn't see the puck as he was screened on the play. Spencer Hrynczak scored a power-play goal by entering the zone on the leftwing wall and beating Bloodgood on a wrap-around attempt.

Early in the third, the Bearcats once again found themselves leading with a power-play goal as Christopher Simak made a cross-ice pass to Matt Usinski. Six minutes later, Casullo scored his second goal of the game, this time while NCCC was shorthanded. The possession battle started to even out as the third period progressed, but neither team was able to capitalize on their chances. In overtime, Nick Hess hustled to beat out an icing call and fed the puck to the point. Caleb Lee kept the puck in and put the shot on net, where it beat Adam Bloodgood under the blocker giving the Thunderwolves the win and a chance at the UNYCHL Tier I Championship. Shots on net were 39-17 in favor of Binghamton.

UNYCHL Tier I Championship: Niagara University 9, Niagara CCC 1

N-Trip's luck ran out in the UNYCHL Tier I Championship Game as Niagara University won their first UNYCHL title 9-1. The Thunderwolves were given a 1-0 lead after two Niagara University defensemen collided and the puck snuck past goaltender Josh Lacelle. The Purple Eagles quickly responded with a goal by defenseman Aidan Wojciechowski, and the momentum stayed with NU for the rest of the game. Chad Moore, Jake Thomason, and Logan Scanlon added to the Purple Eagles lead in the first period, and NCCC could not recover. Chad Moore scored once again for Niagara University in the second, along with goals by Jim DeMatteo, Jake Franklin, and Matthew Croll. Zach Briggs scored the lone goal in the third period to give NU a 9-1 victory in the championship game.

Niagara County Community College finished with an overall record of 15-6 (12-5 regular season, 3-1 playoffs). This was the Thunderwolves' first season in Tier I of the UNYCHL after winning back-to-back championships in Tier II. NCCC finished second in the UNYCHL Metro Division, 15th in the CHF and won a pair of playoff games against two of the favorites to win the CHF National Tournament later this month in Philadelphia, PA.