Coffman Rocks 2   Sycamore Aves 7

Game Summary- State Districts-Dublin Coffman vs. Sycamore Aves, Saturday, February 23, 2008,        Ice Haus

 

                                                                                                                                                            photo by Carol Anderson

1st Period
The Rocks were pitted up against a strong 2nd round match up with the Cincinnati Sycamore Aviators, a 4th seed in the district, Sycamore had played all the top seeds tough all season. The two teams had met twice this season with the Rocks winning the 1st game 6-2 and losing the 2nd game 2-1. The potential winner of the district could come from this game and the Aviators did not waste time to send a message to the Rocks this was going to be a tough match. Just 1 minute into the period Nick Hegyes pounces on a loose puck in the neutral zone and spots Chris Ashton streaking up the middle, Ashton takes the pass and manages to split the defense and is in alone on Alex Rogers, he sends a backhand to the low far corner, to Rogers left and the Aves stun the Rocks just 1 minute into the game, 1-0 Aves. The Rocks looked determined and two shifts later come flying into the Aves end, Matt Zacharias feeds Anthony Rogers in the corner he fires the puck on the goaltender, his hard blast gives a rebound to a waiting Chris Ridgway, Ridgway unleashes a shot from point blank that net minder James Graves has no chance on and the Rocks tie the game 1-1. The Rocks are pressing and unfortunately cough up a puck at the Aves blue line, Dan Dukart steals the puck and heads into the Rocks zone , circles the net and feeds Hegyes who has the whole left side of the net and he makes no mistake, 2-1 Aves. 40 seconds later the Rocks get stunned again when a bad clearing attempt is intercepted by Andy Graves, Graves spots Hegyes again who is all alone and he some how beats Rogers thru the 5-hole and the Rocks are in shock, 3-1 Aves. The Rocks finally get on track and are starting to take the game back in play, they pressure the Aves into a penalty and the Rocks are set to get back into the game. As the Rocks move the puck around to the point a soft pass gets intercepted by Zach Price who feeds Drew Tappan and with just 2:08 on the clock Tappan goes in on Rogers and beats him again and the Rocks leave the 1st frame, looking for answers 4-1 Aves. Rocks were out shot by the Aviators 11-6 after 1.

2nd Period
The first period stunning, emotional output by the Aves had the Rocks in a tough position but the Rocks as always have shown they can compete with anyone. The first 5 minutes of the 2nd period is all Coffman, they are barraging Graves with shots, and simple cannot get anything past him. The Rocks are pressing but penalties start changing the Rocks assault, giving the Aviators a chance to bury the Rocks into a deep hole. Seeing the chance to finish the game the Aves power play is on fire, they are sending a tremendous amount of shots on Alex Rogers and Rogers is doing everything he can to keep his team in the game stopping both Dukart and Hegyes from point blank with unbelievable game saves. Finally Jeff Wolkoff wires a slapshot that Rogers manages to get a piece of with his shoulder but the puck squirts in behind him and is sitting on the doorstep, Aves forward Ashton pounces on the loose puck to score and the Aves are up 5-1. For the next 4 minutes the Rocks continue to press and miss 3 glorious chances, 1st Anthony Rogers beats Graves clean and hits the far post, than a great pass sent in front by Ryan Cohagen to Andy O'Brien leaves a wide open net and O'Brien sends the puck just over the empty net and shortly after the Rocks, Ridgway comes from behind the net and fires a puck that misses the far side by a puck width and the Rocks leave the period shaking their heads at the missed chances. Rocks were out shot by the Aviators 23-17.

3rd Period
Rocks again come out in the final frame ready to make the big comeback. With the Rocks in desperation they literally dominate the first 5 minutes of the 3rd, but again miss too many opportunities. The game is evaporating on the Rocks down to the last 4 minutes of the game and the Rocks are slowing down as they see their season slipping away, they give up 2 late goals that finishes the game 7-2 Aves. Rocks out shot the Aviators 17-7 in the 3rd and were out shot by the Aviators 41-40 overall.

Rocks Highlights:
The Rocks leave a great season behind them, the reality, they have had one of the best seasons the Dublin Shamrocks High School Hockey program have had.

Highlights are so numerous and a mention of a few here is in no way meant to miss some of the contributions this young team has in the players that will be huge for the Rocks next year. To summarize, starting with their leader and only Senior Anthony Rogers, he wore the C on his jersey and was sewn in his heart with great pride. He showed his leadership on and off the ice, a player that has the respect of his friends, coaches, teammates and clearly all of the opposition players, he was respected the best way possible for a player, by every team keying on trying to stop Anthony from winning the game, he finishes with records in 40 games, like 102 pts on the season 64 goals another record, CHC league conference record of 22 goals, a +- 72, tournament MVP.

The Rocks have some of the best juniors in the District in Chris Ridgway 85 pts on the year with 39 goals, +-68, a heart of gold that comes too play every game, Jimmy Wall, 48 pts and 20 goals, +- 40, as a defenseman, who was clearly one of the top two defenseman in the league and showed at any given point he could turn a game around with his spectacular end to end rushes, and not forget the thunderous shots he took from the point. Andy O'Brien, 40 pts, 21 goals, +- 18, the player you feared when he crashed and banged, he was able to separate players from the game just with his relentless physical play, Matt Zacharias, 27 pts, +- 41, one of the hardest hitting players in the league, one of the top defensive defenseman in the league, Jordan Edmonds, Jeff Hoover, Ryan Cohagen, Jonathon Priest these players, game in and game out, came ready to play and contributed with not only goals and pts but brought a physical hard work effort on every night.

The sophomore class, led by their goaltender, Alex Rogers, with 26 wins this season, a goaltender that has shown for two years the potential to be the best goalie ever, at Coffman, Alex on many nights made brilliant saves and every night gave his team a chance to win. Colin Eberhart, a strong young goaltender that showed he can play, made some of the most spectacular glove saves and a heart of gold in support of Rogers efforts every game. Evan Bowdy who anchored a very potent power play, one of the craftiest, smartest players on the ice for the Rocks back end, Evans ability to see and control the game is unparallel every night. Tyler Anderson, playing on the big line, proved every night he came too play, with his speed and work ethic creating chances for the other two to score every night, while winning the Lady Byng for only one penalty the entire season. Jared Nagel, a rugged tough defenseman that sent some opposition players into the cheap seats with his thunderous body checks, Alex Minardo who epitomizes work ethic, he brought a heart and effort every night that showed the character every coach wants his players to bring.

Young freshman players that give the Rocks a strong future, Matt Smith, pared with Wall showed game in and game out he will be an outstanding defenseman, he too brings physical play with a relentless work ethic, Stephen Panchyshyn who made great strides showed he sits behind no one, on defense, his puck handling skills and the will and want to win bodes great for the Rocks, Sam O'Brien, probably the craftiest player in the high school leagues, his ability to create plays for his line mates was also unparallel, the little player that plays bigger than most every night will bring outstanding offense to the Rocks future, Gregory Strine, a player that will show his roots in the future, he simply shows he is ready all the time and gives everything he has to help the team win, a bright young defenseman for the Rocks. The Rocks have a young team and while disappointed in the close to this season, will be every bit as strong if not stronger, next season, with an eye on the bigger prize, to reach the final 4. The fans and families of this years team should be proud and we thank the coaches and the  players for just an outstanding entertaining brand of hockey.

The Rocks next play 2008-2009 season next November, 2008, and all the Shamrocks players would like to thank all the fans, parents and School for the support of their hockey club, without all of the volunteers and Coffman High School support none of this great season would have been possible..

 

                                                                                                                      by Randy Zacharias