Q1: Cameron Cowan (Lyons) and Alejandro Perez (Fenwick) trade saves in
the early stages of the first semifinal contest. Penalty called on
Fenwick and Victor Perez converts to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. Cowan
makes a save after Fenwick earned an ejection to keep the Friars off the
scoreboard. Both defenses are giving nothing up offensively as the first
quarter ends with Lyons leading 1-0.
Q2: Alejandro Perez made two straight saves on Lyons' first possession
to keep the Friars within one. Cowan knocks down a deflected shot on the
other end for LT. Fenwick's counterattack leads to an ejection but Cowan
makes a save and the Friars come away empty from the powerplay. Lyons
timeout at the 4:04 mark of the second period. The Lions turn the ball
over after an ejection call but the LT defense makes a steal on the
other end to maintain their one-goal lead. Payton Comstock gets a strong
shot off from close range but Cowan makes another save. Sebastian Perez
assists Frank McCarter on a powerplay goal as the Lions grab a 2-0 lead
late in the period. Fenwick draws an ejection on the other end and the
Friars call timeout. Both defenses make key stops in the final minute of
the half as Lyons goes into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
Q3: Ramses Flores gets the Friars on the board with a goal from 5m to
cut the Lyons lead to 2-1. The Friars get close to an equalizer but
Cowan makes a key steal to keep the Lions ahead by one. Sebastian Perez
connects from near 7m to increase the Lions' lead to 3-1 midway through
the third period. Dan Lynch quickly responds after an ejection with a
goal from the left post to cut the lead to 3-2.
Q4: The defenses have held strong through the first three minutes of the
period but Fenwick draws an ejection and calls timeout with 3:53 left in
regulation with a chance to tie the game. Ivan Soto scores from the left
side, assisted by Nate Fisher, as the Friars tie the score at 3-3.
Hayden Claessen answers on the other end after an ejection to put Lyons
back ahead 4-3. Comstock converts a penalty shot to the left side of the
cage to tie the game at 4-4 with 2:00 left. Fenwick forces a turnover
and calls timeout with :51 left in regulation. The Lions prevent a shot
and force a shot-clock violation, then call timeout with :19 left with a
chance to win the game. The Fenwick defense earns a stop and Cowan
knocks down Perez' shot at the buzzer as the teams head to overtime tied
at 4-4.
OT 1: Dan Lynch strikes from 7m out to give Fenwick a 5-4 lead with :25
left in the first overtime period.
OT 2: Neither team gets a solid chance in the first two minutes of the
second overtime. Lyons makes a stop and they call a timeout with :21
left and trailing 5-4. Nate Fisher makes a field block and Fenwick gains
possession and calls timeout with :07 left. The Friars run the clock out
and advance to the state title game with a 5-4 win over Lyons!
Q1: Bryan Cho gets the best chance of the first three minutes but Jonah
Klein-Collins makes a key save to keep the game scoreless. Harris Dibek
has made 3 saves on the other end for the Cougars at the midpoint of the
quarter. No scoring for the rest of the period as the teams remain tied
at 0-0 after seven minutes of play.
Q2: Dibek makes two straight saves to start the period as the game
remains scoreless. Lucas Nervig scored the game's opening goal after an
ejection as the Redhawks take a 1-0 lead midway through the second
quarter. Brad Sanford connected on a shot from the left side with 2:02
left until halftime to make the score 2-0. Cam Dougherty added another
score for the Redhawks on their next trip down the pool and Conant calls
timeout trailing 3-0 with 1:22 left until halftime. Alex Hirjoi gets
Conant on the board with just over one minute until halftime to trim the
lead to 3-1.
Q3: Dominic May started the second half scoring to put the Redhawks
ahead 4-1. Bender Russo assisted Sanford on his second goal of the
contest to increase the lead to 5-1. Sanford added his third goal on the
next trip down the pool for Central to make the score 6-1. Luke
Klein-Collins netted his first goal in the final minute of the period to
extend the lead to 7-1.
Q4: Cam Dougherty scored two times in the opening minute of the final
period to extend the Central lead to 9-1. After a Conant timeout, Jake
Lydon scored his first goal of the contest to trim the lead to 9-2.
Spencer Urban tacked on another goal for the Cougars as the Central lead
is cut to 9-3. After a timeout, Alex Hirjoi scored his second goal of
the game to make the score 9-4. Liam Bleuher responded with a goal for
the Redhawks to increase their lead to 10-4 with one minute left in
regulation.
STATE CONSOLATION
Lyons 12 Conant 8
Q1: Bobby Bolan, Frank McCarter, Max Zator and Victor Perez each scored
once in the opening period to give Lyons a 4-3 lead over Conant. Alex
Hirjoi scored 2 times and Jake Lydon scored once in the quarter for the
Cougars.
Q2: John Reilly and Victor Perez (penalty) each scored once for the
Lions as they stretched their lead to 6-4 at halftime. Spencer Urban
scored once during the quarter for the Cougars.
Q3: Bobby Bolan, Ethan Wright, Frank McCarter and Victor Perez each
scored once to extend the Lions' lead to 10-6 entering the final period.
Alex Hirjoi (penalty) and Spencer Urban both scored once in the frame
for the Cougars.
Q4: Bobby Bolan and Max Zator both recorded one goal in the final period
to seal a 12-8 victory for the Lions. Bryan Cho and Spencer Urban both
scored once in the fourth quarter for Conant.
STATE FINALS
Naperville Central 13 Fenwick 5
Q1: Cam Dougherty scored a rebound goal after an ejection to give the
Redhawks an early 1-0 lead. The Friars drew an ejection on the other end
but could not convert. Both teams draw ejections but cannot convert as
Central still leads by two with 2:30 left in the opening period. A hard
shot by Ivan Soto is denied by Jonah Klein-Collins and Brad Sanford
scores from 2m on the other end to give the Redhawks a 3-0 lead. Sanford
adds another goal with :02 left in the period after an ejection and
Central takes a 4-0 lead into the second quarter.
Q2: Payton Comstock finds the back of the net with a backhand from 2m
and the Friars cut the lead down to 4-1 early in the second period.
Dominic May took a pass from Sanford and found the back of the net after
an ejection to give Central a 5-1 advantage with 3:45 left in the first
half. Soto strikes from 7m to cut the lead to 5-2 at halftime.
Q3: Russo scores from the point after an ejection and the Redhawks lead
grows to 6-2 early in the third period. Sanford adds a goal from the
left side after an ejection to give Central a 7-2 lead. Alex Figus
pushed in a rebound goal with 2:50 left in the third quarter to trim
Central's lead to 7-3. Luke Klein-Collins responds on the other end to
give the Redhawks an 8-3 lead with under two minutes left in the third
period. A loose ball falls in Central's favor in their offensive half
and Sanford slots one into the right side of the cage to make the score
9-3. Fenwick timeout. The quarter ends with Central on a 4-1 run and
they lead 9-3 with one quarter remaining.
Q4: Dougherty scores from 2m to extend Central's lead to 10-3 with 5:48
left. Fenwick timeout. Russo scores from 2m on the other end to make the
score 11-3. Luke Klein-Collins scores from 5m to increase the lead to
12-3 with 4:22 remaining. Nate Fisher responds on the other end for the
Friars to trim the lead to 12-4. Ramses Flores adds another goal for the
Friars on their next possession to make the score 12-5. Dominic May
scores his second of the contest on the other end to put Central ahead
13-5.
