By Warren Kozireski —
Senior Simon Kowal scored a second period hat trick to help Victor open up a 6-2 lead on their way to a 6-3 victory marking their first since 2022 and first since dropping back to Class B since 2016.
The Blue Devils jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead as senior Nathan Romeis banged in the rebound of a Kowal shot from the left circle at 7:10. Then it was senior Caleb Clark also scoring a rebound goal off of senior defenseman Ian Kloiber’s point shot at 12:09.
In a wild second period, Batavia United cut the lead to one at 4:05 as senior Jameson Motyka’s shot from the blueline bounced off the end boards and off the goaltender and in.
On the next shift Kowal scored his first of the game on a give-and-go with Clark, but Batavia again clawed back on their next shift as Liam Berger got behind the defense and backhanded the puck in at 5:14 to again cut the lead to 3-2.
But Kowal scored two goals less than two minutes apart before the period was over making it 6-2 Blue Devils. Batavia’s Motyka scored the only goal of the third period.
“It feels unbelievable; it’s a dream of mine playing here at Polisseni,” Kowal said. “I had the opportunity to do that freshman and sophomore year…and to score a hat trick just lights me up even thinking about it.
“Definitely had some butterflies before the game and I knew this wasn’t going to be my last time putting on this jersey.”
“I’m so proud of these kids; these 12 seniors have been on an absolute journey, trusted the process the entire season,” Victor head coach Mike Ferreri said. “They played a complete game tonight.”
Victor entered the postseason on a five-game losing streak but are getting hot at the right time. They qualify for the state tournament and will play Section VI champion Williamsville East Saturday at 3pm at Harborcenter in Buffalo.
(Photo by Koz, NY Hockey OnLine)
