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Rocky River Takes Out Saint Ignatius in District Semi

By Scott Harrington, 02/27/21, 7:15PM EST

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Pirates to face St. Edward for District Title

Danny Asmar scored twice, including a big shorthanded tally, and added an assist to spark Rocky River to a 5-2 win over #2 seed Saint Ignatius in a Brooklyn West District semifinal game at Brooklyn Recreation Center on Saturday.

Reece Rochester also scored a pair of goals for Rocky River, which advances to play #1 seed St. Edward for the district championship next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. It is River’s first trip to a district championship game since 2013 when they defeated Holy Name on their way to the state tournament.

Just over 10 minutes into the game, Asmar danced through two Saint Ignatius defenders on his way down the slot and got the puck to the net where there was a pile-up.  Saint Ignatius goaltender Aidan McLaughlin tried to cover the puck up, but it trickled over the line to break the ice. The goal was credited to Asmar, but it was #14 Zach Pejeau who touched it last.

As the goal was being announced in the arena, River rook a tripping penalty and Saint Ignatius had a chance to get right back in it. Rocky River killed the penalty effectively, however, but another Pirate went right back in the box to give the Wildcats another man-advantage opportunity.

It was Rocky River that scored, however, as Asmar broke up a play inside the Pirates blue line. He knocked the puck into the neutral zone, skated it down, and slid a pass over to Hayden Weaver who zipped it right back to Asmar for a tip-in.

“It was a huge momentum shifter,” Asmar said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game but scoring shorthanded was just huge and showed us how much better we were than them.”

Saint Ignatius responded by increasing their pressure in the River zone. At the 6:30 mark, Pirates goaltender Chris Cogan faced a two-on-one and went post-to-post to rob Owen Zawadski and protect the Pirates’ two-goal lead.

About a minute later, the Wildcats went on the power play again and the third time was the charm.  Erik Galauner worked it from behind the net to Zawadski at the left post. Cogan stopped his initial attempt, but Zawadski buried his own rebound to get the Wildcats on the board.

“We knew it wasn’t enough,” Rocky River head coach Chris Cogan said of the one-goal lead. “We had to keep working and keep the pressure and not make any silly mistakes. Just get the puck deep and go get it.”

Rocky River responded with a power play goal of their own Alex Parnell went D-to-D Hayden Weaver and he made a sharp pass to Rochester just inside the left circle. His shot was re-directed by a diving Saint Ignatius defender and eluded McLaughlin to restore the Pirates’ two-goal advantage with 3:25 to go in the second period.

At 6:11 of the third, Rochester gave Rocky River some more breathing room, pulling a puck off the right half-boards, skating into the slot and beating McLaughlin with a wrist shot low to the blocker side to make it 4-1.

Saint Ignatius head coach Patrick O’Rourke pulled McLaughlin (27 saves) in favor of Jack Utrup at that point.

The Wildcats made a late push, firing 11 shots on goal in the third period.  With just over five minutes to go, Galauner sent Chuckie Wilson in alone on Cogan, but the Pirates southpaw goalie held his ground and made a calm blocker save – one of 25 stops he made in the game.

“That was a big save,” Coach Cogan said. “That’s the kind of goaltending we’re going to need from here om out.”

Freshman Zak Baker scored for Saint Ignatius with 2:57 left to make it a two-goal game again, but Asmar scored into an empty net in the final minute to account for the 5-2 final.

Coach Cogan pointed out that the Pirates had not played much early in the year when they faced Saint Ignatius previously. The two teams met twice in December with the Wildcats coming out on top both times, by scores of 4-2 and 3-2. But traditional thinking tells us it is difficult to defeat a strong opponent three times in a row and River proved that in this game.

“The first time we played them was our second game of the year and then we saw them again a few weeks later,” Cogan said. “we weren’t really playing as a team but over the last few weeks we’ve started to figure some things out and play as a team.”

Rocky River has now won seven games in a row including their run to the Baron Cup title as champions of the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League.

“I think we’re ready to go,” Asmar said of the upcoming tilt with St. Edward. “We know we have a good team, and we know we can beat anybody. We’re excited.”

Saint Ignatius has won the last four OHSAA state championships. They won the Brooklyn District tournament a year ago but were denied a chance at a fifth consecutive state title when the tournament was among the first high school events to be canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Wildcats were hit hard by graduation this year and started the season out as a shadow of their former dominant selves, but they improved markedly over the course of the season and came into the game in a 9-0-2 run that included wins or ties against seven opponents ranked in the Top 10 in the state.

 

--- Scott Harrington for Ohio Hockey Digest