The Varsity Chiefs Advance to Super Sunday
The Iroquois Varsity Chiefs won their first three playoff games last week, and are heading to Super Sunday. The team kicked off their playoff run with an impressive win over St. Joe’s 6-3 and the last two against Maryvale with scores 5-4 and 5-2.
The first game against Joe’s brought end to end action, with numerous offensive and defensive standout plays. The Chiefs took the early lead on a goal by Alex Held, assisted by Jamie Bonn and Joe Giambra. St. Joe’s would tie it, but that tie was soon broken by Richard Karalus, who then added a second to make the score 3-1. Two more quick goals scored by Aiden Abraszek would further the lead to 5-1 and the Chiefs never looked back. Joe’s would muster two more, but Senior goalie Maverick Blachowicz shut the door securing the win. Senior Tyler Hirsch would add a sixth terrific goal to make the final 6-3. Assists on the game were provided by Jamie Bonn, Ryan Marshall, Ryan Coulombe, Karalus, Patrick Stenzel and Jon Lavis.
The Chiefs then played a best two out of three series with Maryvale. The first game held constant action complete with a spectacular finish. The Chiefs struggled early on in the game, going down 4-1 by the midway point of the second. The lone power play goal was tallied by Richard Karalus. Lavis would tack on a second by the start of the third period. From that point on the Chiefs dominated. Storming back with three unanswered goals, they defeated Maryvale in a final score of 5-4. Goals were scored by Jon Lavis, who had an impressive hat trick for the night, and Jamie Bonn with the game winner. Sophomore Garrett Miller was rock solid on defense as always, and made excellent defensive plays throughout the entire game. Defenseman Eric Rogers had good defensive plays in the third period, helping to lock in another win for goalie Mav Blachowicz.
The second game of the series brought just as much action with an incredible atmosphere. The Chiefs again stormed through to a 3-1 lead by the end of the second period. Goals were scored by Joe Giambra, Ryan Marshall, and Alex Held. Maryvale would add a second goal early in the third period, but then goaltender Blachowicz stood his ground. Ryan Marshall added an insurance goal with 1:39 left in the game, and Jamie Bonn would tap in an empty netter to ensure the team a trip to Super Sunday at First Niagara Center. Assists on Chiefs goals were made by Karalus, Miller, Giambra, Lavis, Stenzel, Bonn and Held.
