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Chiefs prove too much

Iroquois stops Dunkirk-Fredonia, 6-1, on Super Sunday

OBSERVER Photo by Ron Szot Dunkirk-Fredonia’s Chris Buchanan, left, tries to fight off Iroquois’ Nathan Nuwer, right, during their Super Sunday championship game at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Sunday. The Chiefs defeated the Steelers, 6-1.

BUFFALO — Experience proved to be the difference at the 33rd Annual Super Sunday High School Club Hockey Mixed Championships at the KeyBank Center.

The Iroquois Chiefs were making their third consecutive trip to the downtown arena while the Dunkirk-Fredonia Steelers were making their first appearance since 2009.

In the end, it was the Chiefs who came out hot and cruised to a 6-1 victory.

“I guess I underestimated the pageantry of Super Sunday week,” Steelers’ coach Jay Bishop said. “This is my second time. I knew what it would look like on the bench and I knew what the locker rooms would be like. I tried to prepare the kids as best as I could this week for what to expect, but once they get here and soaked it in, it gets a little overwhelming.”

The start could not have gone much worse for the Steelers as they had just one shot in the first 12 minutes while watching the Chiefs jump out to a 3-0 lead in the opening nine minutes.

OBSERVER Photo by Ron Szot Dunkirk-Fredonia’s Ryan Thompson, right, fights for the puck with Iroquois’ Garrett Miller, during their game on Sunday at the KeyBank Center.

The first two goals of the game were scored in identical fashion as both were shots from the blue line by Nathan Nuwer and deflected in front of the net. The first goal was deflected by Joe Russo at the 12:03 mark with the second goal being scored at the 10:49 mark by Alex Held.

Just two minutes later, Daniel Porzio scored to push the lead to 3-0, forcing Bishop to call a timeout.

“I think it was time to regroup,” Bishop said of the timeout. “I asked the kids where did our team go? Where is the team that got us here? We needed to settle down and play our game. We wanted to get back to our plan and do what we practiced.”

Iroquois increased the lead to 4-0 with 2:39 left in the period as Held scored his second of the game. This time it came on a wraparound. After his initial shot was saved, he corralled the rebound, skated around the net and put it home for the 4-0 lead.

“I think the atmosphere got the best of us in the first period,” Bishop said. “The kids were awe struck. We didn’t skate like we can in the first period. Once we got the butterflies out of our stomach and found out this is just another hockey game, we played better.”

After 17 minutes, the Steelers outshot Iroquois, 6-5. However, that stat line is deceiving as four of Dunkirk-Fredonia’s shots were on the power play.

The Steelers showed some fight early in the second period as Chris Buchanan scored just 15 seconds into the opening period. Mike Meredith crossed the Iroquois blue line and rifled a wrist shot. Buchanan crashed the net, got the rebound and put it home to get the Steelers on the board. Ryan Thompson was credited with an assist on the play.

“I thought we were back in this and we know we can score goals,” Bishop said. “We have one of the top lines in the league. I thought we would get back in it one goal at a time. I hoped that goal would help change the momentum.”

Iroquois got that goal back midway through the period as Held’s shot was deflected by Nathan Mathis to regain the four-goal cushion.

After the goal, Bishop inserted Gabe Persch into goaltending duties to relieve Nick Novelli. Persch made all three saves he faced in the period and eight of nine shots in the final 17 minutes.

“I thought he played a great game in net,” Bishop said of Persch. “Nick (Novelli) has been great all year for us. Being a goalie is the most stressful job on our team. It’s just like all of us — sometimes we have good days and some times we have bad days. It certainly wasn’t Nick’s fault. I don’t think our defensive zone coverage helped much, but we thought a change of goalie would help change the momentum.”

The Chiefs netted their final goal of the game with 7:36 left in the game thanks to Porzio’s second of the game.

Held was named the MVP with his two goals and two assists.

“Their top two offensive threats are (Spencer Hrynczak) and (Alex Held),” Bishop said. “They are extremely aggressive and work well together. That is a top line and they did a great job getting pucks on net and we struggled initially on defense.”

Now the Steelers must regroup as they leave for Long Island on Thursday for the High School State Championships.

“These kids have been dialed into our program and bought in all year,” Bishop said. “But I think (Super Sunday) is overwhelming. These are young men who have never been here before. We stressed it is just another rink and another hockey game. They got the message, but it wasn’t until the second period.

“You feel for the kids who are disappointed, as I am, too,” Bishop concluded. “The message is things in life don’t always go our way. Dealing with adversity is part of being an adult. We get to spend another week together in Long Island. The big picture is this is one game in their entire hockey career. How we deal with this defines character.”

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