Greece Thunder 2, Aquinas 1 (Lakeshore)
D & C Staff Reports
VIDEO
PHOTOS
Sophomore J.T. Stenglein scored 7:20 into the third period to lead Greece Athena/Odyssey to a 2-1 win over Aquinas in Section V hockey at Lakeshore Ice Arena on Tuesday night. Stenglein made a backcheck to steal the puck away from an Aquinas player, made one player miss and his shot just trickled over the goal line for the go-ahead goal.
Greg Ryan gave Greece (15-0-0), which is the top-ranked team in the state in Division I, a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 6:05 of the second period off an assist by Pat Sofia. Greece is also the top-ranked team in the Democrat and Chronicle coaches poll. Sean Hickey tied the game with 34 seconds left in the second period with an even-strength goal for the Little Irish (8-9-2-1), who are ranked ninth in the coaches poll. Anthony Starnino and Tyler Edwards each assisted on the goal.
"We got better as the game went along and had a lot of energy in the third period," Thunder coach Dan Webb said. "We played an almost perfect period scoring the goal and then holding them off." Peter Dohr (Aquinas) and Parker Bonis (Greece) each made 25 saves.
Wes Vyverberg Reports
Game Report
According to my watch, the Greece Thunder Hockey Team was supposed to face-off with the Aquinas "little" irish a "little" after 7:00pm at Lakeshore on Tuesday Jan 27, but the men in black, gold, and purple didn't show-up until midway through the second period. Perhaps it was something they ate or maybe it was the easy schedule of the two-weeks prior that had lulled them to sleep, i don't know? But AQ outshot Greece 8 to 5 in a rather physical first frame, which saw AQ forward Cameron Corsaro escorted to the gate after hurling Ben McCubbin into the boards with a check from behind. Despite the extended 4-minute man-advantage and several in your face attempts at the irish goal mouth, Thunder was gripping the stick a little too tightly and could not seem to get one through the Dohr.
Early in second, Brandon Cheeseman set JT Stenglein free with a long-lead pass up the middle that drew a crowd as Stenglein ran into the Dohr and slid into the net knocking it off its mooring. During the stoppage, Dohr knocked Stenglein down, but JT maintained his composure and skated away, favoring retribution on the scoreboard instead. As Sean Penn's character (Sam) from the movie I am Sam said, "that's an excellent choice". With the pace of play and the hitting picking up in the second period, Thunder's momentum was slowly building as well and a Lupe Fiasco song came to mind –
If you are what you say you are, a superstar
Then have no fear, the camera's is here
And the microphone's
And they wanna know oh oh oh oh
If you are what you say you are, a superstar
Then have no fear, the crowd is here
And the lights are on
And they wanna show oh oh oh oh, yeah
And what a show Thunder put on as Greg Ryan lit the lamp nine minutes in on the powerplay, converting a sweeeeeeet give-go with life-long friend and teammate, Pat Sofia, to bring the Thunder fans to their feet and the AQ fans to their seats. But one goal was not going to do it, as AQ's Sean Hickey got the equalizer just 34 seconds before the second intermission. The intensity continued to build going into the third as Thunder took the first trip to the box five minutes in. This crucial kill was bolstered by the Hebs-Vyper tandem as they laid it all on the line to keep the puck out of the net and AQ at bay.
Parker's acute sense of where the biscuit was at all times was a Bonis too as the puck passed through the crease and he pounced on it with cat-like reflex. Yeaaaaaaaahhhhhh Par-Keeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrr! A minute later came the moment we had all been waiting for as JT Stenglein picked up the puck, made several nice moves and then ripped a shot on net low and hard, that would trickle in 5-hole. Matt Lane picked up the lone helper on the go-ahead marker that rocked the house. It would prove to be the winner as Thunder held on for the final seven and a half, ignoring the elephant in the room with one more notch in this season's belt.
First star of the game goes to Parker Bonis for showing up ready to play at 7pm sharp and keeping Thunder in the game gloving all but 1 that came his way; second star of the game goes to Steven Hebberecht who had an outstanding game on the blueline and in the trenches, pinning AQ on the boards and breaking up 2-on-1's with well-executed poke-checks; third star goes to Dan Vyverberg for sacrificing his body blocking shots on several kills and for his all-around heady decision making with the puck. Shots were 27-26 in Thunder's favor. Bonis made 25 saves for his 10th win as Thunder advanced their record to 15-0, with a nail-biting 2-1 result over Aquinas.
Stay warm, stay safe, and we'll see ya'll in the 'cuse!
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