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Steelers drop Senior Game, 3-2

Submitted Photo The five Dunkirk-Fredonia Steelers seniors posed for a picture, Sunday, at Steele Hall Ice Arena. The Steelers hosted Depew for the team’s Senior Game.

Trailing by just one goal throughout the whole third period, the Dunkirk-Fredonia Steelers needed something to give. The Steelers caught their break halfway through the period when Cooper Harris found himself alone in front of the Depew net. Harris was robbed by the visiting goalie as his blocker swatted away the puck and the hopes of a comeback. The visiting team, Depew, held on for the hard-fought, 3-2 victory at Steele Hall Ice Arena on Sunday in Fredonia.

Sunday was a special game for five of the Dunkirk-Fredonia Steelers players as it was their Senior Game.

“To see them grow from six, seven, eight, nine, ten year olds to seniors in high school has been a joy,” said Steelers Coach Jim Rush. “All five of them have been a pleasure to coach and we still got some season left, but they’re going to be missed. They have been the back bone of the program for years. For me, I got my start with youth hockey basically when these kids came in and to see them grow into the young men that they are. It puts a smile on my face. Everyone should be proud of how they represent the community.”

After the pre-game ceremonies the Steelers started a little sluggish, while the visitors came out flying. Early on, Depew was finding good offensive zone time, while all of the Steelers early looks came via transition.

The Steelers made the first mistake of the game as they took a penalty that Depew was able to capitalize on, making it 1-0 very early.

The lead was short lived as the Tate Olson and Sean McGinty played a little give and go that led to Olson slipping a shot right between the wickets of the Depew goaltender.

The Steelers perfect response swung the momentum in their favor– it was evident in the brewing frustration of the Depew players. The frustration caused by the sudden Steelers surge of offense led to a Depew penalty.

“It took us a couple minutes to get going,” said Coach Rush. “We survived the first couple of minutes and then we started moving our feet. We created a lot of opportunity. A credit to our forwards, we’ve got some speed that can be very dangerous.”

Dunkirk-Fredonia was unable to capitalize on the powerplay, keeping it 1-1 headed to the second period.

The action came quick in the second as Depew scored just 30 seconds into the frame, off a rebound that goalie Gabriel Persch was unable to reach. Shortly after, Depew found themselves with another golden chance on a two on one, this time Persch shut them down keeping the deficit to one.

The tides soon turned when Dunkirk-Fredonia found themselves on a two-man advantage. The Steelers were unable to capitalize on the opportunity but received a boost of energy. The newfound surge of confidence from the Steelers caused frustration within the Depew team, causing them to make mistakes not seen earlier in the game. However, whenever Depew thought they found a hole in the Steelers defense, Persch shut them down.

Halfway through the second Persch passed the torch to Nick Novelli in net. Novelli stood strong early despite having to wait his turn in net. Both the Steelers goalies combined for 48 saves in the game, 26 from Persch and 22 from Novelli.

“Our two goaltenders played unbelievable,” said Coach Rush. “Both seniors, they rose to occasion. They’re outstanding, they are going to be sorely missed. They have been the backbone for years. They work hard and want to get better at their craft. They made some outstanding saves to keep us in the game and that’s what you want with your goaltenders.”

As the game wore on the physicality intensified– the combined penalties in the second were five and included a roughing and a cross check. The physicality worked its way to the front of the net which payed dividends for the Steelers.

With less than 1:30 remaining, during a mad scramble in front of the Depew net, Sean McGinty was able to find his second point of the night when he slammed home a loose puck in the crease.

Unfortunately for the Steelers, Depew had a response when Nathan Sisti took the puck down the right wing and got a little puck luck as his shot pinballed behind Novelli. In the blink of an eye the Steelers were trailing again, 3-2 headed into the third.

The third period started similar to the first as Depew came out flying and maintained most of the early possession. Dunkirk-Fredonia did not give up anything easy defensively, but they knew if they were going to get the win something needed to change soon.

“The way the defense plays, you teach them to keep them to the outside,” said Coach Rush. “They have done a really good job of that all year. When they are outside everything sort of builds on one another and it’s that idea if we keep them outside our goaltender will make good saves.”

After being dominated the first couple minutes of the third, the Steelers began to pick up the pace.

Just as it looked like the Steelers would come back they halted their momentum by taking a penalty halfway through the period. The ensuing penalty kill saw the best opportunity come from the Steelers, as Cooper Harris stole a puck from the Depew defender he found himself with a golden opportunity on top the crease. Depew’s Trey Hoerner had an answer as he stoned Harris, preserving the 3-2 lead. Hoerner came up big for Depew as he stopped 20 of the 22 Steeler shots on goal.

The Harris opportunity was the last prime opportunity for Dunkirk-Fredonia. All the way to the end Depew did not give anything easy to the Steelers.

“We have one more regular season game before we head to the playoffs,” said Coach Rush. “I told them after the game it’s disappointing to lose, but if we take that effort we’ll be a tough out. To their credit they worked hard and fought through some things. It’s disappointing to lose but I am happy with the effort and the attitude.”

The Steelers hope to close out the regular season next Saturday with a win. The seniors’ final regular season home game will be against Wilson-Newfane at 10:15 a.m.

“To see the growth and maturity that they have shown over the years,” said Coach Rush. “From the time they were Mites to Squirts to Peewees to Bantams to Midgets and now to high school. Hockey has allowed them to develop into leaders and to become mature young men. They are going to be sorely missed. They have a combined 60 years of hockey that we are going to lose of the next year. I look forward to seeing them in 20 years when they are very successful.”

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