Benedictine vs. Rocky River hockey: Bengals secure third seed for Baron Cup I with gutsy 1-1 road tie
Feb. 4—Curveballs have been plentiful at the "Home of Champions" this winter.
Benedictine went into its Feb. 4 regular-season finale at Rocky River short-handed.
The Bengals were temporarily without home ice at Cleveland Heights after the holidays — again, given it was the second time in three seasons that's occurred.
And after its best weekend to date, taking down Hudson and Olmsted Falls in early January, they hit a 1-5 lull.
Benedictine has kept swinging, though, at every curveball — generating hope it might be able to swing for the fences in Brooklyn next week.
Ryan Kehres scored in the second period, goaltender Michael Pelc logged a solid 33-save performance and the Bengals were tested mightily in the third period and overtime in their defensive zone but nonetheless gutted out a 1-1 tie.
That, along with a 3-2 win over River on Dec. 16, is enough for Benedictine (10-12-1, 7-4-1 GCHSHL Red) to secure the No. 3 seed for Baron Cup I behind fellow News-Herald coverage area squad and No. 1 seed Mentor and No. 2 Hudson.
"We've had a little bit of a tough road, starting with we were down three players for tonight," Bengals coach Bob Kehres said. "Two get a significant amount of playing time, and the third gets it sporadic, and down three varsity guys coming into a game like this, the kids really fought and did a great job. I'm really, really proud of them.
"We've had to deal with a lot of stuff. We lost a rink for a month again. We had limited practices. We lost a kid to senior-transfer rule. We have a kid that keeps playing with a broken wrist. So, you know what? For us, it's almost like we had to start over again a little bit, get back to some basics, get our bearings. Nobody likes a tie, but today is a good tie."
After a quiet opening period for both squads, the Bengals cashed in on a power play early in the second. Benedictine went on the man advantage courtesy of an elbowing penalty.
Kehres, the Bengals' standout sophomore forward, did well to find open central ice on a coast-to-coast carry through the neutral zone and slotted a wrister for his 15th goal of the season at the 4-minute, 53-second mark.
A confident penalty kill to close the period from Benedictine after a head-contact call and a 12-save period from Pelc, including a good turnaway on A.J. Ritvo at 12:59, preserved that 1-0 lead.
But the Pirates (15-10-4, 7-4-1), as they always tend to do regardless of personnel ebb and flow under longtime coach Chris Cogan, found another gear in the third, enjoying an 11-2 shots advantage. River forechecked more efficiently and aggressively, was quicker with its D-to-D puck movement and grabbed a tying goal. Sean McDonough shot in, which was turned away by Pelc. But the Pirates' junior forward crashed in to bang home the rebound five-hole at 4:04.
The Bengals didn't get their first shot on goal of the third until Kehres' wrister from the left circle at 8:22.
Much of the third was spent on board-grit duty and puck clearance, but Benedictine managed to get to OT. Pelc stymied an Owen Toole slapper from the top of the zone with 47 seconds left in the extra session, and Kehres was unlucky on a breakaway with a low tapper 14 seconds later.
When Heights had to close in early January due to a maintenance issue, the Bengals got some practice ice at C.E. Orr Arena, their home during their old Red Southeast days in the 2000s, as they did amid the pandemic season two years ago. Heights came back online in late January.
Benedictine goes into Baron Cup I on a decent stretch, with a competitive overtime loss to Hudson, another win over Olmsted Falls and, now, the River tie that could have been tantalizingly more. The Bengals have head-to-head wins against everyone in the Red except for the Cardinals, but they did play them within 3-2 in November.
The curveballs have been plentiful, but maybe, just maybe, Benedictine can throw one of its own next week at the "Barn of all Barns" in Baron Cup I.
"Mentor has been playing unbelievable, but I think in the top four teams, there's a lot of parity," Bob Kehres said. "On any given night, you just never know. Every team has got to show up and play. We'll see."
