Once upon a time winning championships was the standard for Aquinas hockey, but even blue bloods endure dry spells. For the Lil Irish, that amounted to 19 years.
No more. For the first time since 2007, Aquinas is a Section V hockey champion, after knocking off previously undefeated Webster Schroeder 4-2 in Monday’s Class B section final.
The odds were stacked against Aquinas this season, after losing two 60-point scorers from a year ago, and the season itself also included its hardships.
If character is judged on how a group deals with adversity, the Lil Irish aced that test. Aquinas racked up 14 wins during the regular season to earn a favorable third seed for playoffs, then knocked off the defending champion (Victor) and an unbeaten team (Schroeder) to claim the crown.
“No one ever thought we would do it, other than the 27 guys in that room and the coaches,” coach Chuck Dossier said. “We’ve gone through so much this year. It’s just a testament to their will. They never complained, they just worked through it, and I’m super proud to be their coach, I really am.”
Twenty-seven is also a significant number for Dossier — it’s the number of years he’s spent coaching, 25 of which in Section V. And in that quarter century-plus, championships have proved elusive.
Aquinas’ coach has been chasing the championship block so long that the first team he pushed to a final, Bishop Kearney/Eastridge in the 2000s, no longer has a varsity team.
“It’s pretty sweet, I’ll tell you that. I’ve been to a few finals and come up short,” Dossier said. “There wasn’t a doubt with this team. Only winning thoughts.”
Those thoughts are now reality.
Aquinas’ defense locks in
Aquinas co-led Section V in goals scored during the regular season, but offense only takes a team so far in the playoffs. The game plan against Webster Schroeder was to take away the middle of the ice, force plays to the walls and limit opportunities for the Warriors’ dynamic back end.
That strategy largely worked, save for some scrambling in the third period as the Lil Irish protected a one-goal lead.
“There were times I felt the ice was tilted a little bit,” Dossier said. “They like to draw a guy to the wall and send the puck across … You have to be in position to take away those plays. I thought the guys did a nice job with that.”
When pucks did get through, goalie Reagan Gray was steady in net. The senior excelled in controlling rebounds and limiting second-chance opportunities, content to freeze the puck when necessary.
Gray finished with 29 saves and now has a .930 save percentage in three postseason games, after missing time at the end of the regular season due to illness.
It helps that he learns from one of the best. On Aquinas’ bench is Marcy Chinappi, a central figure from the Lil Irish’s state title teams in the late 1990s, who works with the Lil Irish’s goaltenders.
“He’s the first guy on the ice, last guy off,” Dossier said of Gray. “There’s a lot on the goalie’s shoulders. Everyone critiques them when you lose, and everyone critiques them when you win. Today he’s getting critiqued in a positive way and I’m super excited for him.”
Gray was not the only Aquinas player to step up in a major way. Defenseman Caleb Wood and forward Ryan Carmody scored two goals apiece.
Apropos to his status as team leader, Wood opened the scoring minutes into the second period when he led an odd-man rush and converted a shot high into the net.
“The leadership he has, the way he treats his teammates whether you’re a ninth-grader or an upperclassmen, he’s just a class act,” Dossier said of his captain. “He leaves everything out there. We’ve played however many games this year, and in about 90% of them he’s been the best player on the ice. He does what you need your captain to do, which is get on his back and go for the ride.”
Schroeder gauges otherwise successful season
While Aquinas marches on, Schroeder must grapple with how such a promising season came to a crashing halt.
The Warriors opened the season with 22 consecutive wins and haven’t lost in over a calendar year … yet exit the 2025-26 season without a championship.
“Yeah, it’s been awhile,” coach David Broussard said. “My hat’s off to Aquinas. They came ready to go and did a great job. They were way more desperate than we were. The words I like to use are ‘earned’ and ‘deserved,’ and they did that.”
While losing is unfamiliar, deficits were not for Schroeder. Broussard pointed to multiple occasions which his team fell behind this season, only to come back and keep its undefeated season alive.
That juice proved elusive in the final. And when pucks that normally go in don’t, anxiety rises and grips on sticks get tighter.
Still, despite falling behind 3-0, Schroeder had a heartbeat in the third period after defenseman Anthony Pusateri scored twice, the latter in the final minute with an extra attacker.
“We were knocking on the door,” Broussard said. “But the bottom line is (Aquinas) was awesome, and we didn’t have our best stuff. We were never able to get to our game, for whatever reason. We had to be dialed in, had to be detailed, and I think we were for the most part … but they made the most of their opportunities and we did not.”
Quotes of the game
By the numbers
16 — Championships for Aquinas. The Lil Irish won three Monroe County playoff titles in the 1970s prior to what’s now considered the Section V tournament, then boosted that total in the 1990s and 2000s with a string of six consecutive championships.
2 — Section V teams to finish unbeaten in the modern playoff format (Greece Athena/Odyssey in 2009, Victor in 2018). That total will remain following Schroeder’s loss.
14 — Consecutive games with a point for Aquinas’ Ryan Carmody. The forward, who finished tied for Section V’s scoring lead at the end of the regular season, has 19 goals during that stretch including four in the postseason.
Up next
Aquinas (17-4-2) will face Section I’s Rye in the NYSPHSAA Division II quarterfinals on Saturday at a date and location to be determined.
The Garnets entered the week as New York state’s top-ranked team, but suffered a loss to Byram Hills in their section final. That implies a tough draw for the Lil Irish to open the state tournament.
“We’re not gonna lay down now,” Dossier said. “We’re super excited for this opportunity and we’ll get back to work.”
Here is how the game unfolded:
Aquinas vs. Webster Schroeder: Game start
The puck is down for the start of the Class B final.
Aquinas 0, Webster Schroeder 0: 5 minutes left in the first period
Warriors thought to have scored the first goal, but it’s waved off as the net was dislodged.
Aquinas 0, Webster Schroeder 0: End of the first period
Warriors awarded a power play late in the period. Puck stays out, however, with a few saves from Reagan Gray.
Aquinas 1, Webster Schroeder 0: 11:47 left in the second period
Defenseman Caleb Wood leads an odd-man rush and scores on a high shot.
Aquinas 2, Webster Schroeder 0: 1:41 left in the first period
Ryan Carmody gets loose and scores from the slot, only minutes after the Lil Irish killed off a Schroeder power play.
Aquinas 2, Webster Schroeder 0: End of the second period
Lil Irish take a two-goal lead into the third period. Schroeder owns the shot advantage 20-16.
Aquinas 3, Webster Schroeder 1: 11:15 left in the third period
The teams trade goals less than a minute apart. Caleb Wood scores his second to put AQ ahead by three. Then Schroeder’s Anthony Pusateri answered for the Warriors.
Aquinas 3, Webster Schroeder 2: 45 seconds left in the third period
Pusateri scores again, this time with the goalie pulled. Warriors within a goal with less than a minute remaining.
Aquinas 4, Webster Schroeder 2: Final
Aquinas tacks on an empty netter with nine seconds remaining to clinch its first section title since 2007 and 13th overall.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Aquinas claims first hockey section title since 2007 with win over Schroeder
Reporting by Justin Ritzel, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
