by The 8 seeded Benedictine Bengals took on the 9 seeded Olmsted Falls Bulldogs in the OHSAA Hockey State Tournament: Brooklyn Region. Both teams played very hard but the aggressive nature of the Bengals put them over the top in this one. The Bengals held the puck for most of the game and won with a score of 3-1.
The Bengals went on attack as soon as the puck dropped in this one. They wasted no time getting into the Bulldogs zone and putting pressure on. With just 30 seconds off the clock junior Mason Rzepka wrapped around the net and found senior defenseman Alexander Herr with a nice pass. Herr fired a slap shot from the blue line and buried it in the top left corner of the net. This put the Bengals up 1-0 just 38 seconds into the game.
The rest of the first remained one sided as Benedictine continued to put pressure on the Bulldogs. They dominated the neutral zone and spent more than 75% of the period in the Olmsted Falls zone. However, after letting the first shot go through, Bulldogs goalie Dominic Fusco saved all 16 of the Bengals other shots. The Bulldogs weren’t able to turn this defense to offense but Fusco no doubt kept them in the game.
The first period ended 1-0 in favor of the Bengals with them having 17 shots to the Bulldogs 2. The Bulldogs looked to regroup and come out with more offense in the second.
The Bulldogs did just that to start off the second. About 2 minutes into the period, the Bulldogs found themselves with a power play. They wasted no time with a man up as junior Charlie Bernard found the back up the net after a rebound save, evening it up at 1.
The game started to even out as the Bengals remained aggressive but the Bulldogs began to create their own chances. Halfway through the period it felt like they had taken control of the game. But the Bengals remained strong and controlled the neutral zone.
With 2:30 left in the period the Bengals forced a turnover in the neutral zone and had a strong 2 on 1. After a shot reflected off of Fusco’s pads, senior Oyekunle Olowu fired it right back at goal and found the back of the net. The game went into the third period with the Bengals up 2-1.
The Bengals came out in the third much like they did in the first, aggressive. They won a faceoff early in the Olmsted Falls zone and took advantage of it. Mason Rzepka got the puck after the face off and went behind the net. He fooled the goalie and scored a wrap around goal to make the game 3-1.
Benedictine remained on attack for most of the period but found themselves a man down with 5 minutes left. The Bulldogs had to take advantage of this power play to remain in the game, but the Bengals penalty kill was too strong. This was the last chance Olmsted Falls had to get back into the game and the Benedictine Bengals held on to win 3-1.
The Bengals will face off against the 1 seed in the region next week, the St. Ignatius Wildcats.
