FLOP to play for third straight Sectional title

Photo courtesy of Janet Schultz/NYHockeyOnline

FLOP 8, CASH 2

The Frontier/Lake Shore/Orchard Park Girls Federation hockey team is a win away from capturing their third straight Section VI Title. FLOP earned a birth in the championship game Wednesday after dispatching Clarence/Amherst/Sweet Home 8-2 Tuesday afternoon in their semi-final game played at the Nike Base in the Town of Hamburg.

Senior goaltender Maggie Spyche (pronounced Speesh) stopped 31 shots to help secure the victory. Brooke Becker, Mary Kromer and Keegan Shanahan led the way up front registering two goals each. Brinn Stworzydlak and Gabby Messing scored the other goals for FLOP.

“It feels awesome,” FLOP head coach Bob Klimowicz said following the win. “We have a young team but a great group of veteran leadership that help out the situation and it’s great to be going back [to the Section VI Championship].”

FLOP #28 Brooke Becker (Janet Schultz/NYHockeyOnline)

Becker and Kromer are two of those leaders Kilmowicz has relied on since taking the reins three seasons ago.  The team scoring leaders finished with 4-point nights. “When it comes down to it, it’s a team effort,” Becker said. Her teammates echoed that sentiment and then some throughout the next two periods.

Kromer, a junior at Lake Shore, scored the go-ahead goal late in the first period and followed that up with what proved to be the game winner early in the second.

Her line mate Shanahan scored both of her goals Tuesday by driving to the net. “That’s how we score our goals by just being in front,” Shanahan said. “Get the dirty goals…that’s how mine went in. Our chemistry is great on this team. We’re so motivated to win and that’s what we’re known for.”

Despite the win, FLOP knows they can’t slow down, and that Williamsville is going to be up for the challenge. “We know we have a target on our back, so we have to come out strong,” Becker said.

Emma Faso, CASH’s top player, scored both goals in the loss. Faso now has 86 for her career and is in sole possession of third place on the All-Time scoring list.

“Emma is an amazing player,” CASH head coach Nicola Adimey said after the loss. “It’s disappointing that we lost but the girls played hard until the end. I hate it for our seniors but at the same time I am happy for the girls on FLOP as well. Brooke is an elite player, just incredible, and she is my daughter Casey’s good friend. I was just up in Boston this past weekend for her birthday and Brooke had called her. I told Casey to ask her to come visit her Tuesday.”

Photo courtesy of Janet Schultz/NYHockeyOnline

The sectional playoff season was delayed due to a winter storm during the middle of last week. Adimey gave up her practice time at  Northtown Center tomorrow so the finals could be played.

Wednesday’s championship game will be live streamed via the NFHS Network.

Livestream Link: www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/nysphsaasvi/gamce628cf0ed