Stakes high as always for FLOP/Williamsville matchup

Photo courtesy of Janet Schultz, NYHockeyOnline.com

Many rivalries are about what the two sides have in common. Others are about what sets them apart.

The No. 1 FLOP (Frontier/Lake Shore/Orchard Park) and No. 2 Williamsville (North/South/East) girls hockey teams couldn’t be more different.

One side resides in the Northtowns, the other from the Southtowns. One team is known for its stout defense while the other boasts a high-flying offense. But both have enjoyed success over the past few seasons.

When the two teams and their contrasting styles meet, it always seems like there’s a lot on the line.

“It’s definitely (a rivalry),” Williamsville forward Jenna Cavalieri said. “Since we’ve played them so much our talent is about equal. We always make sure to hydrate, roll out muscles, and eat well before the game.”

For the second year in a row, the two teams will battle to decide will who represent Section VI at States. Faceoff is 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Northtown Center.

They earned their spots in the championship game with semifinal wins on Tuesday. FLOP blew past CASH 8-2 while Williamsville held onto to beat LID 3-1.

“What better scenario to play for a Section VI championship than against the defending state champs,” Williamsville coach Rick Hopkins said. “It’s going to take our best effort to be successful.”

In their last eight meetings, FLOP and Williamsville have played each other twice in a championship game and have had three one-goal games along with a tie.

Last season’s sectional title game, which FLOP won 3-1, was tied going into the third period. The only true outlier in the series was the most recent meeting on Jan. 24 when FLOP beat Williamsville 4-1 in a game with the top seed going into the playoffs on the line. In that game, FLOP allowed only 16 shots on net.

“I thought that was our best game of the year,” FLOP coach Bob Klimowicz said. “We played the best we’ve ever had at both ends of the ice. I told the girls today, ‘that’s the way we’re going to have to play if we want to win a championship and go to states and maybe repeat.'”

After winning both the State and Federation titles last season, FLOP picked up where they left off going 12-1-1 this season, earning the top seed for both sectional and Federation playoffs.

As always FLOP is led on the backend. One of the top goalie tandems in the league, Tori Cottrell and Maggie Spyche, have been strong in net. Defenseman Brooke Becker has not only been shutting opponents down on the defensive end but has been a top contributor offensively with 31 points, good for third most in the league this season. They’ve also been supplemented with scoring by forwards Keegan Shanahan (20 points) and Mary Kromer (18 points).

It looked as if 2018-19 was going to be a rebuilding year for Williamsville with Holly Schemzler, Amanda Gaffney, and Jenna Woods all graduated.

But in came Emma Roland.

Roland, who wasn’t able to play in the Fed the last couple of seasons due to travel hockey, returned to Williamsville this year and immediately become the league’s top scorer. The junior’s 48 points, which are 14 more than the second-leading scorer, has helped Williamsville to an 11-3 record. Williamsville has also been getting contributions from Vanessa Willick (17 points), Cavalieri (12 points), and Ella Huntley (11 points).

“It’s probably going to be a really tough game,” Williamsville goalie Elizabeth Timby said about her team’s showdown with FLOP. “Brooke Becker and their goalies are really good. We need to get pucks to the net and get rebounds in order to beat them.”