After enjoying a first round bye the Iroquois Chiefs swept the Dunkirk/Fredonia Steelers in a thrilling second round best of three games series 2-0.
The first playoff game was played on the road at the SUNY Fredonia College ice arena in Fredonia, New York on February 18, 2016. The Chiefs started the scoring on the power play after freshman defenseman Cole Miller (Iroquois) drew a penalty when he was tripped from behind. Senior forward Gage Mueller (Alden) won the offensive draw to sophomore Spencer Hrynczak (Alden), who sent the puck back to the point where junior Alex Held (Iroquois) ripped a slap shot by the Steelers goal tender for the first goal of the game. The Steelers struck back with their own power play goal to tie the game. The second period had the Chiefs strike again with Gage Mueller ripping a shot off a Spencer Hrynczak pass by the Steelers goalie for the Chiefs second goal. The Chiefs scored their third goal with Alex Held’s 2nd of the night when he put a rebound in the short side of the net off a Gage Mueller shot. The Steelers struck back with 1:51 left in the second to pull within one off a scrum in front of Chiefs goal tender Tyler Fredette (Iroquois). The third period was intense. The Steelers came charging out with an impressive offense charge. Forwards Jamie Bonn (Iroquois), Sam Rider (Iroquois), and Jake Vitello (Iroquois) killed off several penalties. Alex Held netted a hat trick with an un assisted short handed goal late in the game. Forwards Joe Russo (Timon) and Ryan Coulombe (Iroquois) physically punished the Fredonia defenseman on the point every chance they could. The Chiefs defense was up to the challenge and kept the Steelers from scoring. Juniors Garrett Miller (Iroquois), Cameron Giancarlo (Iroquois), Owen Creighton (Iroquois), Adam Czech (Alden), sophomore Tim McCormick (Iroquois), freshman Cole Miller (Iroquois) were solid in front of Chiefs goalie Tyler Fredette whom stood tall to secure the win.
The second playoff game was at Leisure Rinks on February 21, 2016. The stands were loaded with fans from both teams. The first period was a tightly played game. The Chiefs scored the only tally of the period when forward Alex Held (Iroquois) ripped a shot past the Fredonia goalie with 5:31 left in the first period. Assisting for the Chiefs was Jamie Bonn (Iroquois). Fredonia came back to tie the game at the 16:46 mark in the second period. The Chiefs stormed back with two consecutive tallies from senior Gage Mueller (Alden), assisted by Jamie Bonn and Garrett Miller (Iroquois). The Steelers would pull within on with 6:00 minutes left in the second period. Then Chiefs sophomore Spencer Hrynczak (Alden) found the back of the net, assited by Owen Creighton (Iroquois), with 4:05 left in the second to give the Chiefs a commanding 4-2 lead. The third period saw the Chiefs pull away from the visiting Steelers with two more goals from Hrynczak. The first one was short handed and un-assisted on a breakaway and the second with an assist from junior Joe Russo (Timon). The Chiefs got into penalty trouble taking a total of 5 penalties. Fredonia was unable to convert on any of their power play situations. Even late in the third period when they pulled their goalie for a 6 on 3 advantage. The defensive core for the Chiefs was extremely strong. Penalty kill leaders included Cameron Giancarlo (Iroquois), Garrett and Cole Miller (Iroquois), and Owen Creighton (Iroquois) backed by goalie Tyler Fredette held the Steelers scoreless in the third period to clinch a spot in the Super Sunday Championship Game.
