February 16, 2008

VIKINGS COMPLETE 17-13 SEASON WITH 7-1 LOSS TO HUDSON IN DISTRICT PLAY!

The Hudson Explorers were just too much for the Vikings to handle in the second round of the Kent District hockey tournament on Saturday afternoon.  The Vikings held the Explorers scoreless until they scored a goal with less than 1 second remaining in the 1st period.  Hudson added another goal just 35 seconds into the 2nd period, and went on to score 2 more to take a 4-0 lead into the 3rd period.

The Explorers increased the lead to 5-0 before the Vikings got a powerplay goal from Brett Evans at 3:25 into the 3rd period.  Scott Saba and Jeff Gill assisted on the Evans' goal.  Hudson added 2 more goals to make the final score 7-1.  The Vikings were outshot by a 44-21 margin for the game, with Brian Vazquez making 37 saves in his final game between the pipes for Hoover. 

February 13, 2008

HOOVER SCORE 13-2 VICTORY OVER BRUSH TO MOVE ON IN DISTRICT PLAY!

The Vikings scored early and often against the Brush High Arcs in taking an 8-1 lead in the first period.  The Vikings took a 3-0 lead on goals by Neal Greenho, T.R. Krucek and Jordan Oblein.  Brush scored to make it 3-1, but the Vikings added 5 more goals in the last 5:11 of the period.  Goals were scored by Matt Fernandez, Jordan Oblein,  David Piero and a pair by James Hankins.

The Vikings outscored the Arcs 5-1 in the 2nd period to win the game 13-2 by the 10+ goal mercy rule.  2nd period goals were scored by Matt Furlong, Jordan Oblein, Jon Bishop, Eli Jones and Nate Miklandric.  The Vikes outshot Brush 42-9 for the game, with Alex Palomba making 7 saves over 2 periods in the net.  Brooks Bukowy and Brett Evans recorded 3 assists each, while Mason Koonce picked up 2 and six other Vikings had one each.

The Vikings will have to gear up for a much different game on Saturday, when they get a rematch with the Hudson Explorers at 3:15pm.

February 8, 2008

The Bees scored the only goal of the 1st period to lead 1-0 and outshot the Vikings 8-7.  Brecksville extended their lead in the 2nd period to 3-0 before the Vikings got on the board with 2:52 remaining on a goal by T.R. Krucek (assisted by Eli Jones and James Hankins) to make it 3-1 through two periods.

The Vikings closed to within 3-2 on a goal by Brett Evans with 7:39 remainin in the 3rd period (assisted by Kevin Deane and Scott Saba), but the Bees countered with 2 more of their own to win 5-2.

The Vikings did finish the game with a 29-27 advantage in shots on goal, and Brian Vazquez made 22 saves for the Vikings.

Brecksville advances to play Rocky River in the Baron Cup II final on Sunday.  The Pirates beat Olmsted Falls 3-2 in overtime in the first semi-final game, scoring the tying goal in the final minute of regulation and the winning goal in the first minute of overtime.

The Vikings return to action on Wednesday, February 13th at 8:15pm against Lyndhurst Brush High in the Kent Sectional Tournament at KSU Arena.

February 5, 2008

HOOVER UPSETS MENTOR IN 1st ROUND OF THE BARON CUP II PLAYOFFS!

The #6 seed Hoover Vikings pulled off a 7-5 upset win over the #3 Mentor Cardinals on Tuesday night in the opening round of the GCHSHL Baron Cup II playoffs at Brooklyn Recreation Center.  Kevin Deane lead the Hoover attack with 4 goals, while James Hankins chipped in with 2, and Brett Evans scored once.  Brian Vazquez made 24 saves for the Vikings.

Mentor took a 1-0 lead at 4:26 of the 1st period.  The Vikings appeared to even the score on the powerplay shortly less than a minute later, but the Cardinal's goalie bumped the net off its moorings just before the shot and the goal was waved off by the referee.  The period ended with the Vikings on the powerplay, after Cardinals were called for hooking on a Scott Saba breakaway chance.  The Vikings failed to convert on 3 breakaway chances in the period.  Both teams were credited with 9 shots for the period.

Kevin Deane scored a powerplay goal at 32 seconds into the 2nd period, assisted by Brett Evans, to even the score at 1-1.  The Vikings then took the lead for good with 5:43 remaining in the period on Deane's second goal, this time with Evans and Saba assisting.  This line added another goal just 43 seconds later to go up 3-1, this time with Evans scoring and Deane and Matt Hertweck picking up the assists.  Mentor scored 28 seconds later to pull back to within one, but James Hankins scored with 3:49 remaining to push Hoover on top 4-2, with Eli Jones getting the assist.  Mentor held a slim 17-16 lead in shots on goal after 2 periods.

The Vikings appeared to bury the Cardinals for good with 2 goals in a span of 8 seconds at 6:23 and 6:31 of the 3rd period to go up 6-2.  Deane registered his hat trick on the first score with Evans and Saba assisting, and Hankins got his second of the game with T.R. Krucek and Jones assisting.  The Cardinals made things interesting when they scored back-to-back goals with 5:25 and 4:56 remaining to pull back to within 2 at 6-4.  But Kevin Deane's unassisted breakaway goal with 4:23 remaining gave the Vikings a 3 goal cushion.  Mentor added a powerplay goal with 2:46 to go, but the Vikings were able to close out the 7-5 victory and advance to the semi-finals.  Brian Vazquez finished with 24 saves, and Mentor outshot the Vikings 29-25 for the game.

The Vikes will face #2 seed Brecksville Bees on Friday, February 8th at 8:00pm in the semi-final round, also at Brooklyn.  The Olmsted Falls Bulldogs and #1 seed Rocky River Pirates will play the other semi-final game at 5:30pm on Friday.

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