Junior Dylan Clark scored his first varsity goal and first hat trick while junior goaltender Ethan Breton made 14 saves to register the shutout as Churchville-Chili opened the 2019-20 hockey season with a 3-0 win over Brockport.
The Saints opened the scoring at 9:11 of the first period as Clark, set up in front of the net, redirected a shot from the right point by senior defenseman Luke Molnar past the Brockport goaltender. Junior Keegan Metcalfe was also credited with an assist on the play.
After a scoreless second period, Clark pounced on his own rebound as the puck laid on the ice behind the Blue Devils net-minder and scored with an assist from Molnar at 2:31 of the third period.
Brockport pulled the goaltender for the extra attacker with 90 seconds remaining in regulation, but Clark blocked a shot from the point before senior Spencer Quinn skated to center ice with the puck before dishing it to Clark, who completed his hat trick into the empty net with four seconds remaining.
“Everything was going right today; second year (on varsity) and everything is going good,” Clark said. “This is what I’ve been looking forward to my whole career. I don’t usually save (pucks as souvenirs), but these I will definitely save.”
Breton, who sported a .909 save percentage as the Saints starter in goal most of last season, was called on to make only two saves in the second period, but seven including a few keys stops in the third to protect the slim lead.
“The team worked hard and it was a good opening night,” Breton said. “My team was clearing the front of the net making it easy to see the puck.”
Churchville-Chili returns nine seniors and has 12 juniors and are aiming to make it deeper into the Section V playoffs after last year’s quarterfinal loss.
“We have a lot of depth, so it’s really a big opportunity to see where everybody falls and see where the guys are,” Saints head coach Brian Young said about the opening game. “We had a lot of opportunities on the power play today (3) and we didn’t capitalize on it, so we really need to make sure these guys know that’s it not a given and they have to go out and earn it.”
As for his goaltender, Young said, “It’s like he never left – that’s how he played for us last year. He’s a gamer, we love him out there and he did his part tonight.”
