By Warren Kozireski —
Webster-Thomas scored in the opening minute of the first period and built a 3-0 lead before weathering a third period Spencerport rally in their 5-2 victory to win the sixth Section V hockey championship and first since 2013.
Zack Wolfe scored after a cross-crease pass from Will Fisher just 30 seconds into the contest to stake the Titans to a 1-0 lead.
They made it 2-0 just 63 seconds into the second period as Spencer Nuccitelli banged in a pass on the doorstep from Cullen Hennessy. They extended it to 3-0 at 4:18 of the period after some sloppy defensive zone play as Cade Spencer scored with an assist from Devin Mulcahy.
Spencerport rallied early in the third as Luc Fedele flipped the puck over the goaltender on a goal-mouth scramble with an assist from AJ Giannavola at 1:58 to cut the Titans lead to 3-1.
That lead became just one goal a little over two minutes later when Giannavola and Fedele teamed up for an even strength tally.
But the Titans regained their composure and used their forecheck to create chances. Kevin Gabalski capitalized on one as he banged in a puck left on the doorstep at 7:23.
Tommy Ammon assisted to give Thomas their two-goal cushion back and Wolfe, who was named Most Valuable Player, added an insurance goal shorthanded after a turnover.
“Every year is different and I’m just proud of our guys,” Thomas head coach David Evans said. “They took ownership of each other and held each other accountable throughout the year.
“We’ve had guys around two-three years and they’ve felt that (losing three straight finals) where they’ve been short, so they were able to battle and play for each other and that’s a really cool thing as a coach to see.”
Webster-Thomas came into the contest having lost the last three Class B finals to Victor (2016), Brockport (2017) and Canandaigua (2018). Spencerport, who set a new team season record with 19 wins, was participating in the first Section V playoff final in program history.
