by No. 1 seed Westlake Demons took on No. 5 seed Nordonia Knights in the semi-finals of the Baron Cup III Tournament (Blue Division). This was a very fast-paced and high-scoring game, and the Knights came out on top, winning the contest 6-3 and advancing to the championship game.
Both teams started the contest aggressively and attempted many shots on goal. The Knights got into trouble quickly, finding two of their players in the penalty box just four minutes into the game. However, both teams were playing super well on both sides of the puck. Senior Noah Vega for the Knights was able to start things off by scoring a goal, putting Nordonia up 1-0 with six minutes to go in the first period.
However, sophomore Seth Schons answered right back to score a goal knotting things up. The pace of play was super-fast late into the period which resulted in a very back-and-forth game. Senior Jarod Outward was able to score one more goal for the Knights as time expired in the first period, making the score 2-1 Knights going into the second.
The second period was an absolute offensive showcase by both sides. Outward was able to start the period off strong, scoring his second goal just 30 seconds in. This put the Knights up 3-1 early in the period. Outward continued to do it all, scoring his third goal of the game and his second of the period in just 4 minutes. This made the score 4-1 at the 10:50 mark and it was all Nordonia.
Westlake had great looks on offense but just wasn’t able to capitalize on any shot attempts. Vega for the Knights had a breakaway and was one-on-one with the Demons goalie but his shot just missed. Nordonia was having their way on offense. Senior Sean Evilsizer was looking to end the scoring drought and score a goal for the Demons, however, Evilsizer was offsides and the point was taken away.
Sophomore Luke Hyland was finally able to stop the scoring drought with a goal with just seconds remaining for the Demons. This was a big momentum boost for Westlake, however, Vega for the Knights added insult to injury and came right back to score his second goal of the game making the score 5-2.
Tempers were flaring late into the second period. An altercation occurred when a Westlake player hit a Nordonia player in the face, ultimately being assessed a five-minute penalty. However, despite the penalty, Hyland was able to score again as time expired, making the score 5-3 with Nordonia leading heading into the third period.
The third period was mostly Westlake to start as they were controlling the puck very well. However, about halfway through the period the momentum shifted, and the Demons couldn’t get the puck back at all. It was a very defensive period, and the puck was being stolen left and right.
Senior goalie Max Wheelock had a huge save when Vega had a breakaway to keep a comeback chance alive. However, Westlake took Wheelock out to put another offensive player on the ice in hopes of coming back. Outward took advantage of the Demons not having a goalie and was able to score his fourth goal of the game to solidify themselves in the championship game. This made the score 6-3 to ultimately end the game.
The player of the game for the Nordonia Knights was Jarod Outward with 4 goals and the player of the game for the Westlake Demons was Luke Hyland with 2 goals.
