Williamsville Ladies Three-Peat

By Janet Schultz; Photos by Janet Schultz©2021 All Rights Reserved.

The Williamsville Girls Varsity Ice Hockey Team has taken the Section VI Championship for the third consecutive season in a 5-2 victory over Lancaster/Iroquois/Depew. All the action took place at Cornerstone Ice Arena in Lockport Thursday evening.

Along with the victory the League presented it’s 2021 Dr. James Rusin Award to Randy Schultz. Schultz is the publisher of  New York Hockey OnLine Magazine which has covered hockey throughout New York State for the past ten years. His wife, Janet, received the award in 2014. The award is given yearly to persons for their dedication and commitment to the League. 

On the ice it was Williamsville opening the scoring in the first period with Kiersten Smith scoring on a pass from Vanessa Willick at 3:55. Just 42 seconds later Ellie Schau scored, assisted by Willick and the period ends 2-0 in favor of Williamsville.

The second period again looks like a Williamsville game when Claire O’Donnell scored, unassisted at 14:30. At 1:44 of the period Smith puts in her second of the night, assisted by Willick and Aizah-Rose Thompson and the second ends with Williamsville in a commanding 4-0 lead.

Williamsville opens scoring again in the third with Molly DiGiulio getting the puck past LID’s Dylan Gorski, assisted by Elizabeth Jackson and Schau. LID was still very determined and they dropped in two goals in the third. The first by Sydney Radecki, assisted by Brook Warren and the second goal by Haliley Keppner, assisted by Morganne Dee and Madelyn Braun. LID just couldn’t recoop and the game ends with a 5-2 victory for Williamsville.

In goal Williamsville’s Elizabeth Timby stopped 23 of 21 shots and LID’s Gorski stopped 24 of 29 shots. Both Timby and Gorski closes out their high school seasons in this game.

Morganne Dee (LID), Aizah-Rose Thompson (WMS) and Vanessa Willick (WMS) are in the top five in points for the WNYGVIH League. Dee had, not only her 100th career point this season, but is second with 8 goals and 14 assists for 22 points; Thompson, 11 goals and 7 assists; Willick with 10 goals and 7 assists and Radecki with 12 goals and 3 assists in regular season play.

Dee is a senior but WNYGVIH will see much more of Thompson, who is a 10th grader; Willick, a junior and Radecki, a sophomore next season.

Due to the pandemic the NYS Championship Tournament was cancelled.