When the Brockport Blue Devils ice hockey team last won a Section V title in 2003, the current seniors were five years old. And the beginning of this season wasn’t going to plan with the team off to a 1-5-1 start.
But fast forward from two days before Christmas to early March and Brockport turned their season around in a big way and, as the third seed in Class B, never trailed in defeating Irondequoit 6-5 at RIT’s Ritter Arena to win the Section V title.
“This is something you play for your entire life,” senior forward Dylan Sharpe said. “All the blood, sweat and tears and travel hockey all comes to that moment right there. This is the best way to end our senior year and I wouldn’t want to do it with any other guys.”
Brockport jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a power play goal at 7:28 of the first period as defenseman Walden Grady blasted home a shot from the left point with assists from Ben Leach and Matt Roe.
But the Blue Devils found themselves in first period penalty trouble, which allowed Irondequoit to tie the game and eventually take the lead with two goals just three minutes apart and ended the first period up 2-1. The Eagles earlier this season defeated Brockport twice – 4-3 on December 9 and 4-2 January 20.
“The first period was a little tough because we had so many penalties,” Sharpe said. “When we’re five-on-five we were dominating the game, but five-on-four they were taking it to us. When we settle down and didn’t take penalties and actually played five-on-five and our style of hockey, that’s how we’ve been playing our best all year.”
Even with top-four defenseman Ben Leach forced to leave the game with an injury and role player Jack Moore thrust into his role and playing key minutes, the Blue Devils received offense from their defense to tie the game 2-2 at 7:58 of the second period as Josh Hettinger put his shot over the goaltender’s shoulder after passes from Carlton Ekiyor and Cameron Dony.
Brockport retook the lead at 11:08 of the second as Roe skated out from the behind the net to score. But the Eagles tied it 3-3 just 34 seconds later.
Dylan Sharpe started a three-goal third period onslaught for the Blue Devils as he pounded in the rebound from a Mitchell Henshaw shot at 1:02. 44 seconds later it was Ekiyor scoring on a goalmouth scramble with an assist from Andrew Harley.
Henshaw then scored what would prove to be the game-winner at 8:44 of the third as he deked around a defenseman and put a wrister past the goaltender to give Brockport a 6-3 advantage. Patrick Viscardi was credited with the only assist.
But Irondequoit was not done. A shot from the slot found the back of the net with 5:46 remaining to make it 6-4 Blue Devils and, with a late power play and the goaltender again pulled for a 6-on-4 advantage, scored again with 31 seconds left to make it a one-goal game.
In the closing seconds, again with the extra-attacker, the Eagles threatened again, but Brockport goaltender Riley Emmerson got his blocker pad on a shot for his 28th save to secure the title.
“We’re a tight-knit group and we know how to react in these situations because we have all year,” Blue Devils goaltender Emmerson said. “It’s huge for our school and we’re just trying to keep it rolling; we’re not done.”
“It feels great to finally come together and win a championship,” senior forward Roe, who scored his 100th career point in the game and was named tournament MVP, said. “I think we always believed, we stuck together and look at us now; we’re the champions.”
