by The 2nd seeded Mayfield Wildcats met the 7th seeded Chagrin Falls Tigers in the first round of the 2026 Baron Cup Blue Division. The first period was a back and forth affair in this one, but from the second period on, it was all Chagrin Falls. The Tigers Trailed in the second period but Senior forward Henry Cimperman wasn’t gonna let that stay the case. He buried 3 goals in the second period for a hat trick and led his team in the game with 4 points. They went on to win the game 6-2 and will move on to the next round of the cup.
Both teams appeared to be settling into the game early, both trying to get a feel for each other and get into the tournament. Mayfield began to play really fast after a few minutes but the Tigers played good fundamental defense and started turning that into shots of their own. They went back and forth for most of the period, the Tigers applying a bit more pressure than the Wildcats, until 5 minutes left in the period when Mayfield was called for too many men on the ice. This put Chagrin Falls onto the power play, and they did not disappoint.
Tigers junior defenseman Anton Flach took a pass from his teammate Henry Cimperman near the top of the left faceoff circle. He settled the puck and saw an opening, and he let it rip. He went top right glove side and went right over the goalies glove to net the game’s first goal. This put Chagrin Falls up 1-0 with 4:08 left in the opening period.
The lead did not last long however. After winning the face off after the goal, Mayfield senior forward JD Sega took the puck coast to coast, He zoomed down the near side of the ice and went straight for the net. He fired a quick wrister to the top right glove side and buried it behind the goalie to tie the game up at 1 with 3:47 left in the period. And the Wildcats were not done yet.
JD Sega got involved again on the teams next goal but it wasn’t him to bury it this time. He skated down the ice and moved the puck past the blue line. He saw a shot in the middle of the faceoff circles and fired it. It went wide to the right and banged off the back boards. His freshman teammate Colin Garett was in perfect position to score off the rebound and he put the Wildcats up 2-1, which is where the score would sit at the end of the first period.
After the momentum shift at the end of the first, Chagrin Falls wasn’t gonna give up lightly. They came out for the 2nd and made sure everything showed up Tigers. For the whole first half of the period it was constant mayhem at the Mayfield net. Loose pucks, shots on goal, pucks off the post, you name it, it was happening on Mayfield’s end, but the Tigers just couldn’t get one to go. That wasn’t until around 7 minutes left in the period.
Mayfield gained possession of the puck and brought it into the neutral zone. Chagrin Falls played tight and forced a turnover and the puck landed right on a Tigers stick. Henry Cimperman dashed toward the net with only the goalie to beat. He made a nasty move to the inside to juke the goalie off his skates and slid it in for an easy goal to tie it at 2-2. Henry finally got one to go for the Tigers and he was far from done.
2 minutes later Mayfield let the puck loose in the neutral zone again. Cimperman caught the defenders of the Wildcats napping and skated past everyone to the loose puck. He found himself with another 1 on 1 with the goalie and this time he went right under the left leg pad to score his second goal and put the Tigers back on top.
With around 2 minutes left in the period the teams were playing 4 on 4 hockey after a couple of penalties. Chagrin Falls was continuing to put on the pressure and Henry Cimperman secured a legendary period. After another mistaken pass by the wildcats they turned the puck over, this time in their own zone, and Henry was in the right place at the right time for a 3rd time this period. Henry took the puck and this time went stick side to put the Tigers up 4-2 and to give him a hat trick in the 2nd period alone. The period would end with a 4-2 Tiger lead, giving them just 16 more minutes away from the upset.
Mayfield came into the 3rd period desperate to score. They spent most of the period with the puck in their possession but struggled immensely to get one to go. The Tigers defense was absolutely suffocating, not only beyond the blue line but in the neutral zone as well. The Wildcats battled and battled all period but there was just not getting past the Tigers.
Senior defenseman Josh Baraona and junior Anton Flach scored empty net goals inside 2 minutes of the period and secured the victory 6-2. Chagrin Falls moves on and will play the winner of 3rd seeded Solon and 6th seeded Aurora.
