Champion’s Cup Match-Up Decided

Both teams came out firing to start the East Division final, combining for eleven goals in the first quarter. Buffalo opened the game with two straight goals and led 3-1 (on two short-handed goals) before Rochester scored four straight goals to take the lead. Rochester held that lead until 2:42 into the second quarter when Mark Steenhuis tied the game. Buffalo then went on to take the lead at 4:22 and by halftime, the lead had grown to two.

Buffalo expanded their lead to three going into the last quarter. Rochester seemed to take over in the fourth quarter, peppering Mike Thompson, and came back to tie the game with less than three minutes remaining. Mike Accursi’s fifth goal of the game gave Rochester the lead at 12:37 of the quarter. On the other end of the field, Rochester’s defence only allowed Buffalo to get eight shots on Pat O’Toole in the fourth quarter. Less than a minute after Rochester went ahead, Delby Powless scored his lone goal of the game for Buffalo to force overtime. Twenty-six seconds of overtime was all that was needed as John Grant Jr. beat Thompson to give Rochester the 14-13 victory.

Mike Accursi led the goal scoring for Rochester with five goals while his teammates, Scott Evans and John Grant Jr. each scored a hat trick. Mike Accursi also added two assists in the game to lead in points with seven. Scott Evans (3G, 3A) and Shawn Williams (1G, 5A) had six points. For Buffalo, five players scored two goals while John Tavares (2G, 3A) and Kevin Dostie (2G, 3A) again led the team in points with five. Pat O’Toole made 43 saves for the win while Mike Thompson made 52 saves in the loss.
In the West Division final, Arizona took control of the game early and held on for the win. Arizona scored first and after San Jose tied the game, they went on to score six straight goals to take a 7-1 lead into the half. Entering halftime there was only one way for San Jose’s game to go, and they did not disappoint. San Jose took over in the second half outscoring Arizona but could not quite make up the six-goal deficit they found themselves in after the first half. Final score Arizona 9, San Jose 7.

Rob Blasdell, Arizona’s goaltender, kept San Jose scoreless for about twenty-five minutes from the first quarter until the third quarter and made 44 saves in the win. Leading the charge offensively for Arizona was Dan Dawson (2G, 3A) and Craig Conn (1G, 4A) with five points each. For San Jose, Gary Rosyski (4G, 3A) and Colin Doyle (6A) were the most successful players offensively with seven points and six points respectively. Anthony Cosmo did not fare too well in net for San Jose making only 28 saves in the loss.
With the win, Arizona will travel to Rochester to challenge the best team in the league on May 12.