It was almost a repeat of last year’s small school Section VI finals, but this time Williamsville East was without section final MVP Matt Steffan and First Team All-State goalie Max Battistoni as well as several others. Meanwhile, Kenmore East returned many of last year’s key players, including forward AJ Marinelli and defensemen Cullen Smyth and Joey Spataro. The Bulldogs also added Trevor Pray and Anthony Tulipane, who spent last season with the Jr. Sabres and Buffalo Regals, respectively.
Add a different setting and the context of the first game of the season instead of a championship game, and you’d find yourself at the Northtown Center at Thursday night for the season opener between Williamsville East and Kenmore East.
On Thursday night, it was Mike Steffan who scored the first goal of the game instead of his brother Matt. And it was a power play goal for Mike, while Matt’s section final goal came just after he skated out of the penalty box.
And it was sophomore Jude Rajakrishnan in goal for the Flames instead of Battistoni, but Rajakrishnan battled through some pre-game nerves to come up with the saves his team needed. He allowed just one goal on 17 Kenmore East shots.
“I was feeling nervous until I got out there just because I didn’t really know what to expect and then you come out to a huge crowd around you just roaring,” Rajakrishnan said. “And…” He paused. “Speechless, honestly.”
Rajakrishnan wasn’t the only rookie on the team Thursday night, and Williamsville East coach Mike Torrillo knew there would be nerves.
“I was joking with them how nervous they were before the game,” Torrillo said. “And I asked a lot of the young kids, I go, ‘Are you nervous?’ and I don’t think they wanted to say yes to me. And I said, ‘Why? Why are you not nervous? Just channel it the right way.’ And I think they did.”
Rajakrishnan channeled his nerves into the focus he needed to make 16 saves and allow just one goal that came late in the third period.
“First game, there were jitters obviously,” he said. “And I think that helped me just get to each puck and stay with the puck and just stay in the game. I wasn’t really getting distracted that easily, luckily.”
“For a goalie to play like that his first game and make a couple of saves was huge for his confidence,” Torrillo said.
The Flames lost a considerable amount of depth with last year’s graduating class, and Torrillo’s game plan to have a different line score each night and even each goal looked less likely this year. But it happened, as Mike Steffan scored his power play goal 7:47 into the first and Dylan Wild came through with the game winner 7:59 into the third.
“I love it,” Torrillo said with a grin. “I love it. And you know, that’s huge. Michael’s power play goal, obviously, gave us one on them early.”
Matt Cohen and Sean MacLeay assisted Steffan’s goal, and Will Mann and Nick Piekarski picked up the assists on Wild’s goal.
“I really have no one to thank but my teammates,” Wild said. “Will was in the right position, Piekarski had gotten the pass over, so I just had to do the right thing and finish it.”
It was Wild’s first goal in two years.
“Came as a shock,” Wild said. “I don’t really know how to describe it. It’s a good feeling, but like I said, it was a team effort. Wasn’t really any one player.”
Cullen Smyth scored the lone Kenmore East goal with 4:08 remaining in the third. Trevor Pray had the assist.
“I thought we got a bad fade on their goal,” Torrillo said. “We kind of got a little bit out of position, we left Jude back there by himself a little bit on that one.”
But aside from that, the Flames’ defense did its job well. The Bulldogs had just five shots on goal in the first, five in the second, and eight in the third.
“Defense played great,” Rajakrishnan said. “Gotta hand it to them for helping me out back there. I’m not too mad about one goal. I’m not sure how many shots I faced. We got the W, so it’s all good.”
“Some of the younger guys were nervous early, but I think they settled in a little bit,” Torrillo said. “And if we hold a team like that to four shots one period, five the other period, we’re doing something right. That’s great. I know Ken East wanted that game, but you know, so did we. And it’s a good start in a long season.”
With some uncertainty going into the season, winning the first game over Kenmore East gave Williamsville East confidence and momentum moving forward.
“I think it’s huge for the whole team, especially because it’s the first game against a rival team,” Rajakrishnan said. “Got a lot of momentum going into the season, especially Saturday. We play Clarence. It’s just good to have that under the belt and keep it rolling.”
“It just puts us in a nice position to keep the momentum going throughout the season,” said Wild. “Found our confidence and just have to keep pushing.”
“They’re a good team,” Torrillo said. “I’m sure we’re gonna see them again, and it’ll be a tough battle again, and who knows where we’ll see them again. But I like the way our kids played today. They played hard for the first game of the season.”
The season moves quickly, and the Flames are scheduled to face Clarence on Saturday, their first large school opponent of the season.
“It’s a long season, so that’s only one,” Torrillo said of Thursday’s win. “We got 19 to go, and now we know we gotta regroup, relax, and get ready for Clarence on Saturday.”