Williston tops HVCC to set up rematch
The Tetons will take on Monroe for the national title Sunday.
ROCHESTER - The Williston State College Tetons did all their scoring in the first period, and the end result was a 6-1 victory over Hudson Valley Community College in the semifinals of the NJCAA ice hockey tournament at the Sports Centre at MCC.
The Williston win sets up a title game rematch with host Monroe Community College, themselves 8-1 winners over Erie in the other semifinal. The opening puck will drop at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Al Maul (Missoula, MT/Sentinel) got the Tetons on the board just 2:57 into the contest, scoring off an assist from Henry Gutierrez (East Grand Forks, MN/East Grand Forks).
Darius Cole (Aurora, CO/Smoky Hill) then scored the first of his two goals a few minutes later for the eventual game-winner. Parker Tomczyk (Mosinee, WI/Mosinee) then made it 3-0 7:55 in.
The Vikings got on the board on the power play, as James Murphy (Long Island, NY/Comsewogue) found the back of the net to cut the lead to 3-1. However, Colby Spoonemore (Billings, MT/Sault Area) responded with a power play score of his own for the Tetons to make it 4-1.
Cole and Ian Schachte (Verona, WI/Middleton) then scored for Williston to cap a wild first 20 minutes.
The final two periods saw plenty of opportunities, but neither team could light the lamp. The Tetons had the most of the chances, but Viking goalie Mike Fay (Long Island, NY/Sachem East) stopped all 39 of the shots he faced over that span. Fay finished with 51 saves in 53 minutes of relief.
Williston goalie Tyler Ampe (Hermantown, MN/Hermantown) was also up to the task, stopping 23 shots on the night.