Family. It’s the motto that led Canisius to a state championship last season, and the Crusaders embraced the motto once again this season.
Near the end of the season, the Crusaders’ season took a turn for the worse as they lost their last four regular season league matchups, and they knew they had to get back to what had worked for them last year and earlier this year.
“We certainly did not have the end we wanted,” said Austin Anastasia, one of this year’s captains. “We were looking to gain back our game that we had before game by game and try and piece back together what we were doing earlier in the season, and we showed tonight that we were a family. And that’s what we’ve really been preaching these past couple days, and we really just stayed close knit, had team dinners, and worked together tonight.”
Those four losses included one to private school rival Timon, and that one may have affected Canisius the most. Anastasia certainly hadn’t forgotten the loss, nor had he forgotten Timon players’ comments following that game, specifically when one Timon player said that “everyone in South Buffalo hates Canisius.”
Anastasia and his teammates used that loss and those comments as motivation Monday night, when the Crusaders once again came face to face with Timon in the private school semifinals.
“I think we haven’t lost to them in about three, four years, I think, since we lost to them a couple years ago in the semis, so we kinda took that loss to heart,” Anastasia said. “And we wanted to get ’em back for what they said about us in their post-game interviews, and we showed ’em tonight.”
The Crusaders knew it wouldn’t be easy, and they recognized the skill of Timon goaltender Tom Parshall and the challenges the goalie would create for them. But Canisius scored three times in the third period to come away with a 3-0 win.
“We always know Timon’s super tough to play against,” Anastasia said. “They’re a gritty physical team, and we knew we were gonna have a battle on our hands, but we stuck with it and we battled it out in the third period.”
“What we were expecting was a very hard game,” said Callahan Glinski, who assisted Anastasia’s game winner and added two empty-net goals at the end. “Trying to get many shots, moving Parshall, kind of rattle him, and then kind of bury it in the net like we did twice.”
“We were expecting a tough game,” said Canisius goalie Tyler Sekuterski, who earned the win with an 18-save shutout performance. “I personally was expecting a lot of screened shots; that’s what they did last game. They did that pretty well tonight, but we just came out with the win.”
“The last time we played them, I thought actually that we outplayed them,” Canisius coach Sam Belsito said. “We outshot them almost two to one. It was on the Olympic Rink. I think that kind of helped their team. We had a hard time getting in on the forecheck, and then when we did get scoring opportunities, it was a lot from the perimeter. We didn’t get a lot of traffic in front, so I knew playing on the smaller rink tonight, we’d get to the front of the net quicker, and as it turns out, our first goal was a tip in front of the net, so we pretty much predicted how we were gonna have to beat their goaltender. He is one of the best in the league. He’s had a great season.”
Parshall stopped 25 shots through the first two periods, but Canisius finally broke through just before the halfway mark of the third period. It was Austin Anastasia with the goal 7:08 into the third period, and it felt good to score after missing several games due to injury.
“Coming off of injury, I was battling the puck a little bit,” Anastasia said. “I was out for about seven games, I think, and just scoring that one was nice to get off my back because it was a big game and I really wanted to put everything I got on the ice out there, and just a great shot by Cal [Callahan Glinski] on the point and a nice tip-in by me.”
Belsito said it was one of Anastasia’s best games of the season, and the captain deserved for his response to a change made before Monday’s game.
“We just took Austin off of the top line,” Belsito explained. “We moved him down to the third line, and I thought Austin responded very well. I thought he played one of his best games of the year. He was very vocal out there, very engaged, and he was rewarded, so good for him.”
Glinski also stepped up.
“Cal, at the end of the second period, we asked him, ‘Can you put your Superman cape on now?'” said Belsito. “And he comes out in the third period and sets up the first goal and scores the next two, so he responded as well. It was good.”
The late goals were a source of relief for Sekuterski late in the third. His team allowed just five shots in the third, and he just hoped they’d stay strong in front of him.
“Just hoping my guys would ice it, really,” Sekuterski said. “Seeing the open net, saying, ‘Someone, someone put it in there.'”
And when Glinski granted Sekuterski’s wish, not once, but twice…
“I was ecstatic,” Sekuterski said. “I was jumping up and down. It felt really good just to get the insurance.”
Glinski’s first came with 1:09 left in the third, and the second found the net right as the buzzer sounded to end the game.
“Very lucky and it felt very nice,” Glinski said. “The first one, I was just out there for a long shift, just decided to ice it down and it somehow went in. Second one, it was just sitting there. Didn’t want them to get a shot and just took a little chip shot and it went down and it went in.”
While Parshall was strong at the other end, Sekuterski faced fewer shots at the Canisius end but stopped them all for the shutout. Everything was working for Sekuterski from warmups right into the game.
“I felt like I was really tracking the puck well, just tracking it right into my body,” he said. “I had felt really good in warmups, so it just continued right over into the game. Felt pretty good.”
One save stuck out in his mind, and probably in the minds of those watching as well.
“With about a minute and a half left, it was backdoor and I just kicked my leg out and it hit my pad,” Sekuterski explained. “That was pretty nice. Felt good.”
From blocking shots to playing together, Anastasia saw the family attitude he’d hoped for Monday night.
“I think we blocked a ton of shots; we played for each other,” Anastasia said. “First period we panicked with the puck a little bit, but after that we started settling down and knew we had time to skate and move the puck. And I think we just started peppering Parshall because he’s a great goalie and certainly played well tonight, but I think we just got back comfortable and we’re looking forward to playing St. Joe’s again.”
The St. Joe’s game is scheduled for Monday night at 8:30 pm, this year’s private school matchup, which is the same as last year’s. Anastasia, Glinski, and Sekuterski were all smiles after defeating Timon, but it was apparent how much they, along with Belsito, would like to continue winning this Monday.
“After coming off those four consecutive losses, to end our season with a fifth loss in a row, that’s not what we wanted to do,” Anastasia said. “And getting this one over a team we just lost to a couple weeks ago, we’re looking to get revenge on St. Joe’s for what they did to us earlier in the season.”
“It was pretty awesome; just knowing that I could beat my rival from my hometown was pretty nice,” Glinski said. “We’re gonna take the athleticism, hard work, and getting the shots on net and just burying it.”
“Monday, big game,” said Sekuterski. “Tough week of practice this week. Gotta come ready. To get the win, it felt great. Felt amazing. Huge win. I love it.”
“St. Joe’s, you know,” Belsito said with a smile. “They’ve beat us both times this year. I don’t think that either time, we played our best game against them. We’ve got a few things to go over at practice this week, but I can assure you that on Monday, we’ll be ready to play our best game.”
