After hosting - and losing - a Section VI Class B quarterfinal game each of the past two years, the third-seeded Vikings defeated sixth-seed Williamsville East, 9-4, Friday.

"They controlled the tempo in the beginning of the game, but we got some quick ones," Grand Island coach Steve Steck said. "They held the possession, but we held them to some tough shots and [goalie] James [Rayhill] made 12 saves in the first half, so holding them to one goal was huge for us."

The Flames' Joseph Spellman opened the scoring at the 6:30 mark of the first quarter. But, despite creating several golden scoring opportunities right in front of the Grand Island goal, that was the only goal they would score in the first half.

"In those opportunities, you either make them and it changes the tempo of the game, or you don't and then you have to want to get another one," Williamsville East coach Ed Greenway said. "Having two freshmen and a sophomore starting, they don't know about that right now. They are getting their opportunities, but they hopefully will progress and learn to make those finishing plays next year."

In the meantime, Grand Island scored six straight goals, including two within the last two minutes of the first half, and two more in the first two minutes of the third quarter.

"We worked on trying to get out on the break," Steck said. "James does a great job of outletting, and we were looking to push, and hoping that would benefit us and get us some quick ones. They did a good job of not letting us do that in the beginning, and then we finally snuck a couple through."

Phil Wendt led the way for the Vikings' offense with two goals and two assists, while Tim Blonski added two goals and an assist and Chris Miller chipped in a goal and three assists. Rayhill finished the game with 15 saves. The Flames, who finish the season 10-9, were led by Joseph Spellman's two goals and an assist, while Andrew Ross chipped in a goal and assist and Lyle Rocker stopped 13 shots in goal.

Grand Island improves to 12-7 on the season, and will now take on second-seeded Amherst in the Class B semifinal at Amherst Tuesday. The Tigers defeated the Vikings, 10-6, in their only meeting of the season April 27.

"We are going to have to do the fundamental things, and have some offensive possession time," Steck said. "The first time we played them, we played too much defense. We played tough, but when we played the amount of defense we did that first time, they are going to put the ball in the net. But we have come a long way since then, and we play the game a little differently."