The Victor Blue Devils (11-1) and Pittsford Panthers (7-6) engaged in one of the wildest matchups in Section V this season Wednesday night in a back-and-forth affair that featured several lead changes, multiple goal runs for each team and a comeback attempt that would fall just short in the final seconds of regulation.
Sophomore attackman Thomas Gravino helped Victor, which came into the game after suffering its first loss of the season, return to its winning ways with a team-high four-point effort on two goals and two assists while fellow sophomore Pax Marshall notched his third hat trick in five games. Marshall’s last two goals came in the final four minutes of the contest, each time restoring a two-goal lead for Victor, including with 14 seconds remaining to secure the 10-8 win.
Nick Benetti also scored twice, and Sam Gotham recorded a multi-point night. Senior goaltender Zach Pavia made nine saves on the 17 shots he faced for a .529 save percentage. Senior midfielder and face-off specialist Logan Callahan turned in a near-flawless performance, winning 20 of 21 face-offs on the night.
The win improved Victor to 8-7 all-time against Pittsford dating back to 2003.
The Panthers were led offensively by three-point efforts each from leading point-getter Harrison Cross (2+1) and Gustav Murphy (3+0) while single tallies from James Cook, Ben Steingrass and Caleb Lewis rounded out the scoring.
Senior goaltender Sean Ragan stopped 10 of the 20 shots he saw for a .500 save percentage.
With his team facing a 3-2 deficit in the closing minutes of the first half, Benetti bookended a six-goal run for Victor that began with 2:01 remaining in the second quarter and ended with him scoring again with 2:14 remaining in the third to give the Blue Devils an 8-3 advantage.
Pittsford, however, remain unfazed and the resilient Panthers began chipping away at the deficit.
Cook beat Pavia just 72 seconds later to ignite a four-goal run for the Panthers, including three in a span of 3:11 from Cross, Steingrass and Murphy to bring Pittsford within a goal.
Marshall’s second of the game with 4:00 to play in the contest would put Victor back up by a pair, but Murphy again responded for the Panthers with 1:31 remaining to make it a 9-8 game.
Despite a last-ditch effort by Pittsford in the final minute of regulation, the Panthers were unable to find the equalizer before Marshall completed the hat trick with 14 seconds remaining to seal the 10-8 win for Victor.
Murphy opened the scoring for Pittsford 6:07 into the first quarter but back-to-back goals less than a minute apart from Alex Seiler and Gravino would give Victor a 2-1 lead.
The teams traded goals in the second quarter before combining for 12 in the second half, including five over the final five minutes.
Victor closes out the regular season at home on Friday, June 4 against Brighton.
| Scoring Table | |||||
| SC | Q | TIME | TM | GOAL | ASSIST |
| 1 – 0 | 1 | 06:07 | Pi | Murphy, Gustav | Cross, Harrison |
| 1 – 1 | 1 | 04:29 | Vi | Seiler, Alex | Gravino, Thomas |
| 1 – 2 | 1 | 03:46 | Vi | Gravino, Thomas | Herendeen, Jack |
| 2 – 2 | 2 | 07:49 | Pi | Lewis, Caleb | |
| 3 – 2 | 2 | 03:22 | Pi | Cross, Harrison | |
| 3 – 3 | 2 | 02:01 | Vi | Benetti, Nick | Gotham, Sam |
| 3 – 4 | 3 | 09:52 | Vi | Gravino, Thomas | |
| 3 – 5 | 3 | 08:56 | Vi | Wheeler, Liam | Gravino, Thomas |
| 3 – 6 | 3 | 05:18 | Vi | Marshall, Pax | |
| 3 – 7 | 3 | 04:31 | Vi | Seiler, Alex | Herendeen, Jack |
| 3 – 8 | 3 | 02:14 | Vi | Benetti, Nick | |
| 4 – 8 | 3 | 01:12 | Pi | Cook, James | |
| 5 – 8 | 4 | 07:38 | Pi | Cross, Harrison | |
| 6 – 8 | 4 | 05:11 | Pi | Steingass, Ben | |
| 7 – 8 | 4 | 04:27 | Pi | Murphy, Gustav | |
| 7 – 9 | 4 | 04:00 | Vi | Marshall, Pax | |
| 8 – 9 | 4 | 01:31 | Pi | Murphy, Gustav | |
| 8 – 10 | 4 | 00:14 | Vi | Marshall, Pax | Seiler, Alex |
| Complete Series History since 2003 | ||||
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