NYS Western Regional: Greece Athena/Odyssey 1, Ithaca 0, (SUNY Brockport)

Thunder 1, Ithaca 0

PHOTO GALLERY 1

PHOTO GALLERY 2

The offensive heroes seem to change from game to game for the unbeaten Greece Athena/Odyssey Thunder, who just keep marching on toward a season of perfection.
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"It's a different guy — it seems like — every day," coach Dan Webb said after Saturday's 1-0 victory over Ithaca in the New York State Division I regional at Brockport State's Tuttle Ice Arena.

On Saturday, forward J.T. Stenglein took his turn in the scoring spotlight, breaking the scoreless tie off a dynamic two-zone dash with only 1:05 remaining in the second period.

But while the goal-scorers gladly rotate for the 25-0 Thunder, there has been one constant; the super play of goalie Parker Bonis.

Bonis wasn't busy on Saturday as the Thunder outshot Ithaca 34-13, yet he was still required to make game-saving stops.

"All year he hasn't faced a lot of shots but there are always one or two really, really good opportunities and he's been coming up really big," Webb said.

None was bigger than his save with just 4:16 to play, when he flicked out his glove to snare a point-blank redirection by A.J. Fiore, preserving the one-goal lead.

"I knew I had to make every single save for us to win the game, so I made sure I did," Bonis said.

The one-goal nail biter wasn't necessarily expected, but Ithaca (10-8-6) was content to weather first-shot pressure with goalie Zach Wilder and then hope to catch a break offensively.

"We executed our game plan to a 'T'; we had some chances and it didn't work out," coach Rich Armstrong said.

Wilder may have had luck on his side — Pat Sofia, Stenglein and Eric Gunderson all hit posts in the first 30 minutes — but he also came up with several clutch saves.

"Any other goalie, it's a 5-0 game," Stenglein said. "We couldn't find the back of the net to save our lives."

Except once, and Stenglein was the goal-light bloodhound.

He picked up the puck in his own end, darted through the neutral zone, angled into the Ithaca zone on the left wing, and, from the circle, zipped a low shot that beat Wilder low to the far side.

"Once the puck got on my stick, I knew I was going to score," he said. "Sometimes you get the puck, you just know you'll go the distance."

Perhaps 15 seconds earlier, Bonis kicked away a slap shot from Mark Thompson off an Ithaca two-on-one, keeping the game scoreless.

"He plays great every single game," Stenglein said.

The Thunder are trying to go the distance on an undefeated season. They play West Genesee (22-3-2) at 5:45 p.m. Saturday in the state semifinals at Utica's Memorial Auditorium.

"No one ever expected this at the beginning of the year," Sofia said. "We knew we'd be good but we didn't expect to be this good.

"It feels good to be one of four teams left, to be fighting for the state championship."

WES VYVERBERG REPORTS:

After reading the article in the paper about Thunder's 1-0 regional quarterfinal win over Ithaca little red of section-4 last weekend, it occurred to me that they left someone out - Thunder's defense - one of the best kept secrets in the league, quietly sandwiched between the number one offense in the state and a cadre of netminders whose collective talents are unequaled. The paper has previously referred to them as "Stout" and "Stingy" and today was no exception as they maintained a tight-gap, stepped up in the neutral zone, blocked at least a half dozen shots, killed countless penalties and forced the play wide all night, limiting the little red to only 13 shots on goal.

Where were we? Oh yeah, Tuttle North Arena on the SUNY Brockport Campus, with Thunder home in white and Ithaca visiting in their tacky red and yellow unis, as we all listened to a rather sultry rendition of the anthem by Amanda Sherry before the first drop of the puck. With Thunder making a habit of going to the box early, JT went on his first of many walkabouts and had the corner picked for a shorthanded attempt, but Wilder was right there to glove it. Thunder went on to outshoot Ithaca 12-6 in the opening period, but the closest they would get was when Pat Sofia rang one off the post.

Seany Ryan and Marc McNeil took a page out of Fairport's book as they laced 'em up and skated the Thunder flag around the ice, after the first intermission, wearing their older brother's purple sweaters. Perhaps a glimpse of Thunder's future? That got the Thunder fans, all decked out in purple, fired up and ready to go. JT, Pat, and Gundo took turns hitting the pipe in the second period, but nobody could buy a goal. McNeil, Briganti, and Grills came out with fresh legs putting a lot of pressure on Ithaca and drew a penalty. Then with a minute to go in the period, Stenglein did what we needed him to do, taking a feed from Brandon Cheeseman, going on an end-end rush down the left side, and beating Wilder with a wrister, low to the glove-side, for the eventual winner. Thunder pretty much controlled the second period with a 16-3 shot margin for a 2-period running total of 28-9.

The final frame featured solid team defense from Thunder's net on out with Parker remaining focussed, the D battening down the hatches, and the forwards coming back to help out. And so it ended, a white-knuckle finish in Thunder's defensive zone, and the road to Utica was finally paved. According to Mike Sofia, "It was just too darned close", I would have to agree.

First star of the game honors go to JT Stenglein for netting the winning goal. Second star of the game is shared by the goaltenders at both ends, e.g. Parker Bonis who played well in the nets, making several clutch saves, as he has done all year for the Thunder, on the way to recording his 6th shut-out and 17th win; and Ithaca's Zach Wilder, who saved 33 of 34 he faced. Third star of the game goes to the Thunder-D (Gundo, Vypes, Hebs, Scotty) for taking care of business in their own end.

Thunder advances to the semifinal round of the NYSPHSAA ICE HOCKEY STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS where they will face West Genesee from Section 3 on Saturday, Mar 14, 5:45pm @ Utica Memorial Auditorium, in Utica, NY.