By CHRIS BROOKS, sports editor, wellsvillesports.com
WHITESVILLE — The dynamic duo of Trenton Green and Cody Costello for the Lions of Wellsville was one that could not be stopped, especially bright and early in the first half when a 3-0 halftime lead was built. Some late pressure by Andover/Whitesville was applied in the early stages of the second half, but the Lions would find a way to hold it off with a 5-2 victory on Wednesday.
“The boys played well to start the game, but got a little too casual as the game went on,” said Lions coach Noah Holmok. “It was definitely nice to get some of the younger guys to take a look at some opportunities. It was a great game for us to get back on our feet after the Keshequa game on Monday. Hopefully this helps us get prepared for a tough battle with Hornell coming up.”
The Lions (4-5) would start out the game with a pair of goals in the first 10 minutes of play, both from Green to get the engine firing early. Green’s first would come at the 32:55 mark, as he took a pass from Cooper Brockway into the zone and knocked it home. A very short time later, Green would record his second by connecting with Ethan Bailey to help extend the lead two minutes after the opener.
Wellsville would make it three first half goals right near the end, as Cody Costello chipped in with efforts of his own on his first goal with 4:48 left to go, sending home a pass distributed along by Brockway to give the team more room to work with going into the break, and into the second half.
Although Andover/Whitesville (1-7) was down, they were not out of it. After Wellsville started a half of action with a fast start, they countered with one of their own to cut down their deficit from three to one, scoring two goals in a span of five minutes to turn up the heat. It would begin with Elden Terhune, as he found an opening in the Lions defense after garnering a pass from CJ Estep on the way in to eliminate the shutout nearly eight minutes in.
Later on, the deficit was down to a single goal on a massive penalty kick chance — one that was capitalized upon by Colton Calladine to get even closer. The score would remain as such on the board until the Lions were able to shake it off and branch their lead back out to three once and for all, seeing help from Logan Dunbar along the way on the front lines.
Dunbar would go on to assist on Costello’s second goal of the game with under 16 minutes left to play, and then with five minutes left, scoring his very first goal of the season to push the advantage out insurmountably to secure the victory at the final buzzer. The five goals by the Lions were part of a 21-shot barrage against Andover/Whitesville, as they outshot the hosts by a 21-9 count.
In net, Dunbar and Gavin Haggerty combined to make six saves, while Landon Ordway made 13 stops on the other end for the hosts.
Houghton Academy 3, Alfred-Almond 2
ALMOND — The Panthers of Houghton Academy would pick up a large opportunity to strike on in the first 40 minutes of play, garnering a penalty kick to take a lead that they would hang onto in the end despite a late push from host Alfred-Almond in the last 10 minutes, as they edged out the Eagles by a 3-2 count on Wednesday.
The scoring started with Pedro Rebello, who elected to take a free shot at the Alfred-Almond net in the opening half of play, seeing his chance go into the back of the net to give the Panthers (5-2) a lead after the first 40 minutes that they would gradually build over time into the last session.
Shams Zia and Lucas Matias would add more damage for the Panthers later on, with Zia taking a pass from Jack Prentice on the way in, while Matias provided a solo rush into the Alfred-Almond zone to branch out the team’s lead to three for the majority of the game. The Eagles would eliminate the shutout with two quick goals in a three-minute span down the homestretch, as Blake Ledbetter and Nolan Tormey went back-to-back to cut their deficit down to one.
But the late comeback was too much to overcome in the end, as Houghton Academy held on for their third straight win despite being outshot by Alfred-Almond by a 12-8 count. In goal, Marco Zanini would grab the win behind 10 saves.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 4, Jasper-Troupsburg 1
TROUPSBURG — A solid well-rounded offensive effort from Genesee Valley/Belfast allowed them to set the tone in their return to action on Wednesday, as they compiled a lead at the end of the first half and built onto it insurmountably to further cement their victory on the road, coasting past host Jasper-Troupsburg with a 4-1 victory.
“J-T is a solid team, and I thought we played well. It’s the most complete game we’ve played this season,” said GV/Belfast coach Mark Sullivan. “Thai (Norasethaporn) made some big saves in the second half when they were starting to get some chances. We started to click, and it’s made a difference the past couple of games. We’re looking forward to what B-R will bring coming up. This kind of game tonight will help us prepare for it. We have to bring our best against one of the best right now.”
Evan Turybury and Sal Gambino got the scoring started for Genesee Valley/Belfast (4-3), with Thayne Cobb handing out a helper to Gambino to assist in building a 2-1 lead after Jasper-Troupsburg found their way onto the board along the way, with Bryce Guerin recording the team’s lone goal.
With the narrow lead in hand, the Wildcats would try and apply as much pressure as they could on the visitors, but two more goals from the Genesee Valley/Belfast offense would put away the game for good in the second half, as Turybury found the back of the net a second time off a Justin Hill pass, and then a goal from Cobb later on to seal the deal.
Genesee Valley/Belfast outshot Jasper-Troupsburg by a 15-5 count, with Thai Norasethaporn making four saves to declare victory in between the posts. Nolan Barney made 11 saves for the Wildcats.
Hammondsport 5, Friendship/Scio 0
HAMMONDSPORT — Four goals in the first half was all the Hammondsport Lakers needed to make their presence known on Wednesday, three of them coming in the last five minutes before the break to keep visiting Friendship/Scio in the rearview mirror on their way towards a 5-0 shutout.
The Lakers would strike first five minutes after the opening kick at center, with Luke Szathmary finding the back of the net on his unassisted rush into the Friendship/Scio (1-6) zone. The lead would hold steady across a midfield battle for the majority of time left in the half, up until the hosts ripped open a three-goal spurt in the last five minutes before the buzzer to take a 4-0 lead, led by TyChristopher Ritter’s pair of goals.
The scoring concluded five minutes into the second half with Ritter completing his hat trick for Hammondsport, putting a bow on a 15-shot effort for the offense. As for Friendship/Scio, Derek Perkins made 10 of those saves in between the posts, while the offense conducted an eight-shot effort of their own doing — all of which were set aside by goalkeeper Ethan Buckley for the shutout.
Fillmore 8, Hinsdale 0
FILLMORE — Eben Schilke, Mitch Ward and Henry Sardina all provided some explosive offense for the Eagles of Fillmore to keep their hot start ignited. The three Eagles combined to net seven of the team’s eight goals, with Schilke picking up a hat trick while the defense forced visiting Hinsdale into a complete shutdown on all fronts to record an 8-0 shutout on Wednesday.
After a 2-0 lead heading into the first half led by goals from Schilke and Sardina, the Eagles (7-0) pumped down the gas pedal and never let go of it in the last 40 minutes, scoring six second half goals, four of them coming in a 15 minute span to continue setting the tone for the remainder of the battle.
Ward and Sardina would follow Schilke’s big night up with two goals themselves, with Ward handing out three assists along the way. Schilke would tally a helper to complete his seven-point night, while Brent Zubikowski and Ray Muzaid-Omar each garnered an assist to finish off a 13-shot offensive attack.
As the defense completely held Hinsdale (1-6) still with no shots on the opposite side of the field.
Luke Colombo was awarded the shutout for Fillmore, while Ethan Chapman made five stops for the Bobcats.
