Senior day celebrations allow teams, players, and families a chance to reflect on the past while looking forward to what’s ahead.
That’s exactly what Elisabeth Sidorski and the Williamsville girls hockey team did on Thursday afternoon.
As a seventh grader, Sidorski scored her first Federation goal against Amherst/Sweet Home.
In her senior game, Sidorski poetically had a goal and an assist as Williamsville took down Clarence/Amherst/Sweet Home (CASH), 4-1.
“It was lots of fun,” Sidorski said. “It was awesome I got to score against the same team I did six years ago in the senior game. I enjoyed it. The team has come so far over the past six years. We just keep getting better and better.”
Sidorski, a three-sport varsity athlete at Williamsville South since middle school, was one of two seniors honored by coach Rick Hopkins before the game.
“She’s a unique student-athlete,” Hopkins said. “I’ve coached her for six years. She going to graduate with 18 varsity letters. She’s something special. She’s been a great mentor to the younger girls.”
The league’s top goal scorer Emma Roland showed off her offensive skills early getting the game’s first goal. Roland dragged multiple defenders from one end of the ice to the other for the shorthanded goal with 7:29 left in the first period.
A few minutes later, Sidorski knocked the puck in to give Williamsville the 2-0 lead going into the break.
Williamsville picked up their lone goal of the second period on the power play as Sidorski and Sam Ingham found Jenna Cavalieri with 3:30 left in the period.
CASH finally got on the board with a power play goal themselves. Emma Faso hit Allison Greene for the score with six minutes left in the game.
Williamsville responded back a few minutes later as Erin Roland got her second assist of the game finding Vanessa Willick for the goal.
In the other girls Fed game of the day, Monsignor Martin (MM) handed Frontier/Lake Shore/Orchard Park (FLOP) their first loss of the season. The result means the standings at the top are as tight as ever as the teams enter the final week of the regular season.
MM and FLOP are atop the standings with 31.5 points each. Monsignor Martin holds the tiebreaker with a tie and a win over FLOP. Not far behind is Williamsville with 30 points.
On Thursday, January 24th, Williamsville will face FLOP in a game which will likely decide who gets the top seed in the Section VI playoffs. With Niagara Country adding a seventh public school team, only the No. 1 team gets a bye in the first round of sectionals.
“It’s going to come down right to the wire,” Hopkins said. “That’s what you want because if you have something clinched early in the season the tendency is to lose your focus. That’s the last thing you want right before the playoffs. It shows you how balanced the league is.”