CARDINAL O’HARA GIRLS HOOPS WINS MMAA CHAMPIONSHIP; PARK SCHOOL CLAIMS THEIR FIRST TITLE
High school girls' basketball playoffs in Western New York are underway. Two Champions were crowned last night in the Monsignor Martin Athletic Association.
For the eleventh time in the last twelve seasons, the Cardinal O’Hara Lady Hawks claimed the MMA Division AA crown, defeating St. Mary’s of Lancaster 72-56 in the title game. On her way to posting a game high 32 points, Hawks senior Kyla Hayes broke the all-time Monsignor Martin scoring record, passing former Lancer and current Indiana Hoosier Shay Ciezki. The St. John’s commit now sits at 2,625 points in her varsity career, which ranks third among WNY girls hoopers all time.
In the Division B Championship game, The Park School defeated Mount St. Mary’s 37-28, to claim the Pioneers’ first ever championship.
HS BOYS' HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS TODAY
The High School boy’s hockey championships take place today at KeyBank Center, with three title games.
First up, the Niagara Cup Championship between St. Francis and St. Joe’s will determine the Monsignor Martin Champion. This is the third meeting between the Red Raiders and the Marauders, after they split back to back games at the end of January. St. Joe’s took a 3-2 win before St. Francis bounced back with a 6-3 win the next night. Puck drop for the Niagara Cup final is at 3PM today.
In the Division I final, top-seeded Orchard Park is playing for their fourth consecutive championship against the #2 seed Lancaster. In their two meetings this season, OP dominated the Legends, sweeping the two meetings by out-scoring Lancaster 11-4. Puck drop for the DI Final is at 5:30 today.
Finally, in a highly anticipated nightcap, the Division II final features Williamsville East and Williamsville North. The #4 seeded Spartans moved down to DII this season, after falling to Orchard Park in the DI Championship one year ago. With a 16-5-1-1 record, Will North has won defensive battles over West Seneca East, Starpoint, and Kenmore East on the road to the Championship game. The #2 seeded Will East Flames, likewise, have been on a mission ever since their season came to an end against Kenmore East last year in the DII Semifinal. They’ve beaten Amherst, Frontier, and Hamburg on route to the title game.
With a 17-3-2-1 record, one of the three regulation losses the Flames suffered this year was against Will North. In the only meeting between these two, back in mid-December, the Spartans jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period. East cut the deficit in half early in the middle frame, before North punched in another late in the second, taking a 3-1 lead into the third. In the final period, the Flames made it a one-goal game once again, but despite having a late power play at the end of the period, Will East fell short, as the Spartans hung on for the 3-2 victory.
It should be a barn burner tonight at KeyBank Center for all the marbles, and of course, bragging rights in Williamsville. The DII Final will drop the puck at 8:00pm.
MANHATTAN CUP FINAL PREVIEW: CANISIUS VS ST. JOE’S
Like the football season this fall, Canisius and St. Joe’s will write another chapter in the history books of the greatest rivalry in Western New York when the Crusaders and Marauders go head-to-head in the Manhattan Cup Championship tomorrow night.
Consistently ranked in the top three in the large school polls this season, St. Joe's and Canisius split the regular season series, with the home team winning both games. In mid-January, Nick Purdie hit a buzzer beater three-pointer for the Crusaders to knock off then-#1 ranked St. Joe’s at the Kennedy Field House, 51-49. Just a couple of weeks ago, on Valentine’s Day, the Marauders got their revenge, defeating Canisius 55-48 on Kenmore Avenue. Tomorrow’s championship is a neutral site game, at Canisius University’s Koessler Athletic Center.
In the Monsignor Martin semifinals on Wednesday, #1 seed St. Joe’s took care of business with Nichols, with a 68-45 win. Nate Blenman posted a game-high 30 points for the Marauders, including a couple rim-rocking throwdowns to get the packed house on their feet.
#2 seed Canisius punched their ticket to the title game with a 65-43 win over the defending champion Bishop Timon. Patrick Cullinan posted 21 points for the Crusaders, while Purdie netted 14 points.
This is as big of a game Western New York could ask for, the top two teams in the area facing off with a Championship on the line, not to mention the heated rivalry. Tickets to tomorrow's Manhattan Cup Championship are available here. Tipoff from the Koessler Athletic Center on Saturday is at 6:00pm.
SABRES FALL TO HURRICANES LAST NIGHT, HOST MONTREAL SATURDAY
Following a slow start, the Buffalo Sabres couldn’t muster up enough offense to comeback, as they fell to the Carolina Hurricanes last night, 5-2.
A brutal start in the first ten minutes would cost Buffalo the game, as they suffered three goals against to the Hurricanes, who rocked their throwback alternate “Hartford Whalers” uniforms. On the pregame show, Rob Ray spoke about how the Sabres back in the 90’s hated to hear the Whalers’ fight song, “Brass Bonanza,” when playing in Hartford. Last night, the current Sabres learned the classic Whalers’ tune, hearing it blared after the goal horn five times throughout the night.
Off the opening faceoff, Dylan Cozens needlessly accepted a challenge and dropped the gloves to fight Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Buffalo’s centerman got rocked, not landing a single punch, doing nothing but igniting the hometown crowd and the Carolina bench. After two Hurricanes’ goals, Lindy Ruff pulled Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen from the Sabres net, replacing him with backup James Reimer. Less than two minutes later, another poor defensive play from Buffalo resulted with a goal against. Late in the first, Alex Tuch scored on the power play, cutting into the deficit, making it 3-1 after one.
Former Sabre Taylor Hall netted another for the Hurricanes in the second, the lone goal of the middle frame. Buffalo got to their game in the third period, but it was far too little, too late. JJ Peterka scored his 17th goal of the season just over a minute into the third to make it 4-2. An empty net goal sealed the win for Carolina, snapping the Sabres’ win streak after two straight.
Buffalo hosts Montreal tomorrow night at 7PM.
BANDITS AT SASKATCHEWAN SATURDAY NIGHT
After a hard-fought, 13-12 win at San Diego last week, the Buffalo Bandits are back on the road this weekend for a Saturday night battle in Saskatchewan. Opening faceoff against the Rush is at 7PM tomorrow night.
The Scoreboard is presented by Zenner and Ritter Heating and Cooling
