An 8-3 defeat of Lancaster by Orchard Park in the Section VI Class AA title game at the KeyBank Center on Friday evening sent a message to their Federation brethren.
The Quakers aren’t going anywhere.
This is because they’ve now won four sectional championships in a row and five in the last seven years. Which begs the question – is this a dynasty?
“I absolutely think so,” senior Cameron McCarthy said. “We’ve got a great coaching staff all the way down through the JV levels. They do a great job of preparing us and they put in a great game plan for us every game. We just trust the system, trust each other, and we keep fighting.”
That coaching staff, led by Josh Dannecker, returned the compliment in kind.
“I think it's because there’s a lot of buy in from the kids,” Dannecker said. “In high school, there’s a lot of turnover and you don't keep guys for years and years. Some of these guys have been around for a few years, but you’ve got to keep adding pieces. Whether it's our freshman goalie (Matthew Schwarzott) or whether it's Jack Gallagher or Nolan Thorpe, our sophomores on defense, adding them to the seniors – everybody’s buying in and playing our system.
“I think that's what's kept us pretty consistent. Even here in the sectional championship, everyone is buying in and bringing the new guys along and just kind of building the program. And it starts at the modified level and moves all the way up to our varsity program.”
Whatever the case may be, the Quakers may not be champions today if they weren’t able to withstand an early one-goal deficit. Less than two minutes into the game, Tommy Grimm got the Legends on the scoreboard first but Dannecker’s crew was able to stare adversity in the face and come out on the other side stronger.
“We knew Lancaster was going to come out hard and for the first few minutes, they kept us in our zone, and we were working hard just to get the puck out,” Dannecker said. “We were a little nervous, and we had to calm them down a little bit. We said to the guys, ‘You’ve just got to keep coming. Keep that energy level up,’ and we just kept battling through it. And eventually we got our goal, and then kind of built off that.”
That first tally came from Gavin Reashor, as he tied the game at one by going top shelf on Legends goalie Dylan Gerth. From there, the levee broke as McCarthy, Brennan O’Hara and Reashor again each lit the lamp to take a 4-1 lead after one period of play.
We knew we had to try to control the game a little bit with our forecheck and in the neutral zone, and I thought for the first seven or eight minutes of the game that plan worked almost to perfection,” Lancaster coach John Bak said. “We were bottling them up a little bit by limiting chances and we got a goal.
“We had an opportunity to go up 2-0 and then when they scored that first one, we found ourselves on the wrong end of the stick. In a matter of a few minutes, it all kind of fell apart and we were playing catch-up.”
Justin Relosky and Sean Robertson continued the onslaught for the Quakers with each skater finding the back of the net in the second, leading Gerth to be replaced by understudy Austin Williams. Cole Purrenhage and Barrett Anstett wrapped up the team’s scoring with tallies of their own while Cooper Dee and Carter Mendyk both found their way on to the scoresheet for the Legends.
While their upcoming opponent in the state quarterfinal hasn’t been determined yet, Orchard Park doesn’t want their ride to come to a halt just yet.
“I want to go as far as I can and just keep playing,” Brady Ciano said. “I’d love to make it to a state championship and hopefully win.
“All things must come to an end though,” twin brother Jack Ciano added. “In that case, hopefully we end our playing careers on a winning note.”
Photo Gallery Credit Janet Schultz/NYHockeyOnline.com
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