Lucas Newton and Sean Kolenich scored two goals apiece and Evan Wrightsman stopped 18 of 19 shots to lead the St. Edward Eagles to the Brooklyn West District championship with a 6-1 win over Rocky River Saturday afternoon at Brooklyn Recreation Center.

The Eagles will make their first trip to the Ohio state tournament in six years. The Eagles have won more state titles (11) than any other school in Ohio history, but have not won it all since 2008.

“These guys worked their butts off all summer and all fall,” said St. Edward head coach Tim Sullivan. “Through all of the COVID restrictions they found a way to get in the weight room, they found a way to keep going through all of it, and we still have some work ahead of us but I’m going to tell you if feels pretty good right now.”

The game was closer than the final score would indicate, with the Eagles scoring three unanswered goals in a span of 6:45 in the third period to pull away.

Just 2:17 into the game, St. Edward’s Jack Mansour drew a tripping call by driving hard down the right wing along the boards.  On the ensuing power play, the Eagles’ leading goal scorer Noah Schultz got the puck in his sweet spot at the bottom of the right circle but, instead of pulling the trigger, slid a pass across to Kolenich for a back-door attempt that hit the outside of the net. 

Schultz did get of two more shots from that same spot, but Rocky River goaltender Chris Cogan stopped one and the other went over the net. Later in the power play, Schultz had a third attempt, a wrister from the left circle that Cogan bobbled before covering up. Jack O’Sullivan also missed from the left post as the penalty expired.

It was clear that Rocky River could not keep putting the Eagles on the power play.

At the 5:13 mark, Newton re-directed a high shot from the point off the stick of Graham Freeworth. The puck deflected down and into the net on Cogan to his glove side. There was a discussion among the on-ice officials, but the goal counted. Rocky River head coach Chris Cogan had an animated conversation with the officials when it became apparent the goal would stand.

The Pirates struck back to tie the game before the first intermission, however.

Reese Rochester, who scored twice in Rocky River’s district semifinal win over Saint Ignatius, drove hard to the net and got a shot off with a defender draped all over him. He managed to follow up his own rebound and put it behind St. Edward goaltender Evan Wrightsman to tie the game at 12:07. Hayden Weaver picked up an assist on the play.

The Pirates then spent the last 1:49 of the frame on the power play after a high-sticking call against St. Edwards defenseman Hayden Payne. It was a tremendous opportunity to take the lead – or at least pick up some momentum heading into the room between periods.

The Rocky River power play moved the puck confidently around the offensive zone, but the best scoring chance belonged to St. Edward. It came on a severe-angle shot by O’Sullivan who chased down a cleared puck and tested Cogan along the ice from the bottom of the left circle.

The Pirates' goaltender made a career-high 40 saves in the game.

The game was tied, 1-1, at the end of the first period, but shots on goal were 12-6 in favor of St. Edward. The Eagles’ leading goal-scorer Shultz was generating shots and defenseman Tyler Fowles, the Great Lakes Hockey League Player of the Year, was leading breakouts with his skating ability.

“This is a pretty emotional game and none of our guys have ever done it,” Sullivan said about playing in Ohio’s ‘Frozen Four’. “And I haven’t done it in all my years of coaching, so I think everybody was just trying to get their feet underneath them – on both sides.”

Three goaltenders have seen significant playing time for the Eagles this season, but Sullivan went with the senior Wrightsman as his starter. It was also Wrightsman who started and won the Cleveland Cup championship game over Gilmour Academy in a shootout.

“We have a really good senior class and we’ve all been working for this since we were freshmen,” Wrightsman said. “We’ve been going into these games thinking they could be our last one. It’s been on our mind, chasing that ring.”

Newton struck again at the 1:28 mark of the second period, arcing from the boards around the top of the left circle and firing a wrister past Cogan’s glove from 30 feet out. O’Sullivan was credited with his first of three assists in the game.

Just 31 seconds later the Eagles took another penalty, and the Pirates power play had another chance. Again, they moved the puck crisply and with purpose but their best scoring opportunity, a Weaver wrist shot from the high slot, hit Wrightsman’s left shoulder and went over the net.

Lucas Opdycke used his speed to back off the St. Ed’s defense and gain the zone, then pushed the puck back to a trailing teammate, but a slapper from the point was gobbled up by Wrightsman.

Midway through the period, Ethan Critzer gained the puck in the middle of the ice off a faceoff to Cogan’s left. He fired a shot from 15 feet out that Cogan blocked and attempted to cover up. Zach Bell appeared to stuff the puck over the line, but it was waved off.

Having survived that close call, Rocky River gained a little spark and kept some sustained pressure on the Ed’s zone for the next few minutes. Zach Pejeau had an open look and fired a sharp wrister from the left circle but it was gloved cleanly by Wrightsman.

Rochester took an offensive zone slashing penalty with 5:37 to go in the second period. The Pirates’ PK, led by Weaver, almost killed it off, but with just :03 left on the man advantage, O’Sullivan fed the puck in front to Sean Kolenich who buried a shot from 15 feet out with authority. Josh Szopo also collected an assist on the goal, giving the Eagles a two-goal advantage for the first time in the game.

The Pirates came out of the room for the third period with some fire in their belly, and Danny Asmar and Rochester almost connected on the first shift, but Ed’s weathered the storm.

Two and a half minutes into the frame, Ryan Steckle sent Bell in alone, but Cogan came up with a big left pad save. The Eagles took a penalty shortly after and the game reached a pivotal point. A power play goal for Rocky River would have certainly changed the complexion of the game.

O’Sullivan did a great job holding a puck along the boards in the River zone to kill time. Late in the power play, Rochester had a quality a bid from the bottom of the right circle, but Wrightsman was equal to the task and Pejeau pushed the rebound just wide. Weaver skated down the slot and tested Wrightsman with a wrist shot through a defender’s legs but the Eagles’ netminder calmly gloved it to freeze the play.

A long shot from the point hit the crossbar just after the penalty expired and the Pirates had missed their opportunity to get back in the game.

“Killing off that penalty there was huge for us,” Sullivan said. “I think that was the game-breaker. If they pop one in there and it could be a different game.”

Then came the back-breaker.

With the puck cleared gently into the Rocky River zone, Shultz out-skated a Pirates defender to the puck in the left circle and tested Cogan low to his stick side. The Rocky River goaltender made the pad save, but a teammate attempted to clear the rebound back through the slot where Kolenich was stationed. He fired it back on net, and Cogan got most of it, but the puck trickled across the goal line to put St. Edward up 4-1 with 8:40 remaining.

Cogan was shaken up on the play and stayed down for a few minutes but, after being attended to, stayed in the game.

Mansour and Payne added late goals to round out the scoring.

--- Scott Harrington for Ohio Hockey Digest