It was senior night for Clarence as well as the last game of the regular season, and the Red Devils wanted a win after losing three straight. They faced Niagara Wheatfield on Thursday night, and Clarence goaltender Jack Niesyty couldn’t remember defeating the Falcons recently.
“I knew it was gonna be a tough game from the past games we’ve played,” Niesyty said. “We’ve always had trouble facing them, but we came in here wanting a win because I don’t think, since I was a sophomore, we’ve beat them, so this was big.”
Niesyty, a senior, recorded his third shutout of the season as Clarence defeated Niagara Wheatfield 3-0 to finish the regular season 6-7-2-1 in league play. Niesyty wasn’t the only one who expected a tough game.
“They’re a tough team,” senior captain Randy Felber said of Niagara Wheatfield. “I knew they had a few big wins under their belt, so I just figured we had to go in hard and don’t stop.”
“I was hoping that we would come out and win, which we did,” said senior Nick Amodio. “I thought it was gonna be a battle, which it was. We got the one-on-ones; that’s what really mattered. We just shot the puck.”
The first period was scoreless as Niagara Wheatfield goaltender Dom Tallarico was as strong as Niesyty in the other night. Through most of the second, the story was the same until finally, with 41 seconds left, sophomore Noah Corry scored his second goal of the season to give Clarence a 1-0 lead.
“It was just a good play by my line,” Corry said. “We were working hard and got one, so it was good.”
Senior Nick Amodio added to the lead 4:17 into the third with a goal assisted by Felber.
“It felt pretty good, to be honest with you. It made us more confident,” Amodio said. “I dumped the puck in the corner, and I got in there. I got the puck from the one guy, beat him on the one-on-one, and got the puck in front of the net. My buddy shot the puck, it bounced out, and I buried backdoor.”
Felber added a late empty-net goal, and the Red Devils came away with a win to end the season and send them into the playoffs. The captain liked the way his team played Thursday night.
“I thought we played good as a team — we won some good battles in the corners and got the puck out of the zone and took the offense,” Felber said. “It was a good ending. It’s gonna be a good start to the playoffs.”
And Felber spoke of Niesyty’s performance in net as well.
“That really kept us in there,” Felber said. “He had a few phenomenal saves; I don’t know how the puck didn’t go in the net. He does his usual, plays good, doesn’t let the puck go in the net.”
One save especially stuck out in Niesyty’s mind after the game was over.
“In the second period, they had it on the blocker side and I just kind of dove across with the stick,” Niesyty said. “Just hoping it didn’t go in, just kinda shoved my hand out there, and it hit the stick.”
So what was working for Niesyty on Thursday?
“Everything,” the goalie answered. “The crowd helped too. Everything went well, I think, being senior night.”
Clarence is scheduled to face rival Lancaster on Saturday in the first round of the playoffs — the large school quarterfinals. The past two years, Clarence has come away with the win. The Red Devils are hoping to do the same again this year.
“Just good motivation to go into the playoffs with a win, so just gotta keep on the positive,” said Corry.
“We’re gonna take the momentum into playoffs and hopefully get the win against Lancaster and keep going,” said Niesyty. “Playing them first round the past two years, it’s always a tough game. They always put up a fight, and I’m just expecting it to be hard-hitting, hopefully low-scoring, and we can get the job done.”
“Hopefully we’re gonna do what we’ve done the past two years and win that game,” Amodio said.