NCCC knocks off No. 1 Bonnies; advances to semifinals
Article Submitted By Assistant Coach Kevin Beato
Niagara County Community College stunned the UNYCHL by knocking off the No. 1 ranked team in the Collegiate Hockey Federation - the undefeated St. Bonaventure Bonnies. This came just 16 hours after beating division rival St. John Fisher Cardinals in a play-in round at home. N-Trip will face off against the Binghamton University Bearcats on Saturday in a Final Four matchup. This year's Final Four will take place at Northwest Arena in Jamestown. N-Trip and Binghamton will be joined in the Tier I bracket by Niagara University and Cornell University.
UNYCHL Tier I Play-In: Niagara CCC 5, St. John Fisher University 3
The Thunderwolves got off to a slow start in the opening game of the postseason, trailing the Cardinals 2-1 after the first period. Chase Schmidl scored the lone goal of the period for Niagara County Community College, putting a wrist shot over the right pad of Cardinals goaltender John Pawloski. N-Trip responded in the second period, scoring three unanswered goals to give themselves a 4-2 lead going into the third. Jason Kuchey tied the game with 11:44 to play in the period off a shot from the point. Just 56 seconds later, Will Casullo went end-to-end, splitting Cardinals defenders Nickolas Rippe and Michael Cichetti before backhanding it over the left pad of Pawloski. Spencer Hrynczak scored a power-play goal off a slapshot from the point to give the Thunderwolves a two-goal lead late in the period.
The Cardinals brought the pressure in the third period, and it paid off with Chance Bears capitalizing off a Conner Kaluzny turnover. He gathered the loose puck at the blue line and beat N-Trip goaltender Trevor Goodyear through the five-hole. Goodyear would shut the door for the rest of the period, and Eddie Jetter iced the game with an empty net goal. Trevor Goodyear earned his first UNYCHL postseason win, and captain Chuckie Schmidl had two assists.
UNYCHL Tier I Quarterfinal: Niagara CCC 4, St. Bonaventure University 3 (OT)
Niagara CCC entered the UNYCHL postseason ranked 15th in the country in the Collegiate Hockey Federation, while the undefeated and defending champions of Tier I St. Bonaventure Bonnies entered as the 1st-ranked team in the CHF. The Bonnies started the defense of their Tier I Championship with 1-0 lead off a goal by Ben Cichowski. Just under five minutes into the second period, Joey LoBrutto got the Thunderwolves on the board as his shot from the slot squeaked past Bonnies goaltender Kyle Karoleski off a pass from Chuckie Schmidl. Schmidl would add a second assist in the period when Jason Kuchey gave NCCC a 2-1 lead. This lead was short-lived with Bonaventure on a lengthy two-man advantage. The puck bounced off the glass, off the top of the net, and right to the stick of Jake Spina who buried the puck past goaltender Trevor Goodyear.
The Bonnies took the lead in the third period off an Eddie Jetter turnover, which gave Thomas Wahl a shorthanded breakaway with 13:57 to play in regulation. The Thunderwolves piled on the pressure, leading to a late powerplay opportunity. With the goalie pulled for a 6-on-4 advantage, the Bonnies collected a loose puck and skated down the ice but missed the empty net. N-Trip capitalized, with Caleb Lee firing a wristshot through a screen to tie the game at 1:12 to play, silencing the full Olean Recreation Center. Shots on net at the end of regulation were 44-29 in favor of St. Bonaventure.
In the 6:28 that the overtime period lasted, St. Bonaventure outshot NCCC 7-1. The lone shot on net for NCCC was enough, as Joey LoBrutto entered the zone and found Spencer Hrynczak slipping by the defense. Karoleski slid across anticipating a one-timer, but Hrynczak pulled it to his backhand and slid the puck into a vacated net. Chuckie Schmidl and Joey LoBrutto had a pair of assists each, and Trevor Goodyear made 48 saves in the upset.
Niagara County Community College will face Binghamton University at 7:30pm in Jamestown. The winner will face the winner of Niagara University vs. Cornell University the following day for the UNYCHL Tier I Championship.