St. Francis moves on to WNY Federation Catholic final with win over Timon

BUFFALO - One would think by scoring the first goal of game, 1:03 in to the first period, a team would build on that kind of momentum.

The opposite was the case for the St. Francis Red Raiders, however. After going up 1-0, the team stopped playing and let the underdog Bishop Timon-St. Jude Tigers control most of the period.

“When we scored early instead of it giving us a boost it just put a fire under them [Timon],” said St. Francis coach Craig Fattey. “And, they [Timon] skated hard for the rest of the period.

The rest of the game was a different story, though, as the Red Raiders scored three times in the second and four times in the third en route to an 8-1 victory of the rival Tigers in the Western New York Varsity Hockey Federation Catholic semifinals, played at the Buffalo State Sports Arena.

The game took a turn in the opening minutes of the second as the Red Raiders jumped on Timon with three goals in the first 5:40 of the period – including one 17 seconds in.

“We just talked about staying out of the penalty box and continuing to skate hard,” explained Fattey on the adjustments they made between the first and second period. “We talked in the locker room that we need pick up our game and skate harder. If we don’t skate hard we could be in for a long, long day. And, that was the biggest thing to be aware that Timon hits hard. Don’t be surprised when you are checked, because they are going to hit you every time.”

The Tigers would try to claw their way back in the contest, but St. Francis goaltender David Nowak came up with some big saves.

Timon would finally get on the board late in the second when Justin Nelson’s point shot eluded Nowak. The goal was a power play goal and the only won St. Francis would let up.

The penalty kill of the Red Raiders was one of the stories of this game as they killed off a key 5-on-3 early in the first period. In fact, the Tigers would only muster two or three shots with the two-man advantage.

“I think we do a pretty good job of penalty killing,” said Fattey. “I was very please that we were able to do well on that 5-on-3.”

From there it was all St. Francis as Copper Stefaniak as he scored three goals and added one assist.

Next up for St. Francis is Canisius at 7 p.m. next Sunday at the First Niagara Center. The game is part of Super Sunday and will be the third Federation championship game of the night. The winner will play for the Catholic state title the following week.

In the first meeting of the year, the two teams skated to a 0-0 tie at the Buffalo State Sports Arena.