Tribunes capture first national title
MCC defeats Williston State 4-2 in NJCAA championship.
ROCHESTER - The Monroe Community College ice hockey team raised the national championship trophy for the first time in its history, defeating Williston State College 4-2 in the NJCAA title game Sunday.
The Tribunes finish the season with a record of 25-4. Williston closes at 15-15.
Tournament Most Valuable Player Tom Dehr (Varysburg, NY/Batavia Notre Dame) was stout in goal all game for Monroe. The freshman goalie stopped 38 Teton shots, include a flurry late as Williston tried to gain momentum.
MCC had reached the championship on three other occasions but had finished runner-up each time. The 2012 team, however, would not be denied.
It was Williston who broke through first, as Brandon Passley (Kitchener, ON/Resurrection Catholic) converted on the power play at 2:49 of the first for his fourth goal of the tournament.
MCC then rallied back in a hurry, scoring a pair of quick goals to take a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission. Dan Turgeon (Centennial, CO/Cherokee Trail) got the equalizer with 11:12 remaining, and Zach McDonald (Billings, MT/Skyview) scored just 31 seconds later for the lead.
The teams traded scoring opportunities in the second period, but Dehr and Teton goalie Jeff Dunaisky (Duluth, MN/Cloquet) made the score stand up.
Monroe kept up the pressure in the third and took a two-goal lead when Bobby Thomaris (Elmira, NY/Elmira Notre Dame) scored a power play goal off a pass from Tim Young (Chili, NY/Aquinas).
Williston continued to fight, and when Jacob Radermacher (Portland, OR/Tualatin) scored on the man advantage with 13:12 remaining, the Tetons trailed by just one.
The scored remained 3-2 late into the third until Dan Going (Wilton, NY/Saratoga Springs) deflected home the insurance goal to restore a two-goal advantage with just 2:59 left in the contest. The Tribunes and the exuberant crowd then counted down the seconds to their first national title.
Dehr was joined on the All-Tournament team by Young, Thomaris, and Turgeon. Head coach Craig Chamberlain was named Coach of the Tournament.
Dunaisky, Passley, and Radermacher were named to the All-Tournament team for Williston, along with Chris Kendall from Erie CC.