Friday, 2/26/21
GAME 1 (Pool A): Dayton 10, Fremont 0
The Dayton Stealth were barely off the bus when they unloaded on Fremont, 10-0, to kick off the 2021 Buckeye Cup at Chiller North in Lewis Center.
Forward Landon Bechtolt slapped down the hat trick with two first-period goals and another in the second to lead the Stealth offense. Teammates Ty Flannagan and Ethan Schuh had two apiece, as Flannagan book-ended the night in the first and third periods. Andrew Chevrette, Ben Stewart and Connor Lemmerbrock each contributed a goal.
The Ice Wolves struggled to get started against the Stealth’s puck control. They attempted only 10 shots on goal (including just one in the final frame) – all stops by Dayton goalie Cayden Dalton.
GAME 2 (Pool A): Cincinnati 2, Canton-Akron 0
A little tighter action in this one as the Swords of Cincinnati grounded the Canton-Akron Jets, 2-0.
Hector Mercado got Cincy on the board first with .1 seconds to play in the first period. Grady Hutchinson capped the scoring with 6:11 to go in the second.
Cincy goalie Ryan Petruk stopped 21 shots for the win, 10 in the third period. Tavian Parks was 21 of 23 for the Jets.
GAME 3 (Pool B): Medina 5, Cleveland Wildcats 2
Forwards Josh Jarecki and Carson Johnston accounted for four of five goals, with two apiece, as the Medina Hockey Club dispatched the Northeast Ohio foe Cleveland Wildcats, 5-2. Brandon Brown added a goal and an assist.
Reagan Larcy and Nick Danylchak scored in the first and third periods, respectively, for Cleveland.
Familiarity between the clubs shone thru as each was slapped with six two-minute penalties.
GAME 4 (Pool B): Northeast 3, Newark 2
A pretty squeaky clean game by hockey standards, with only two penalties, as the Northeast Storm got on the board with two second-period goals, to beat the Newark Generals, 3-2.
Garret Duquet, Connor Hayes and Jaedon Thomas (1 assist) accounted for all three Northeast scores.
Duncan Humphries tied the game for the Generals in the third period at 6:25, before Thomas game-winner less than a minute later (5:55).
Kevyn Neil had 22 saves in goal for the Storm.
GAME 5 (Pool C): North Royalton 6, Miami 3
The North Royalton won its first contest, 6-3, over Miami.
Defenseman Michael Virzi came thru with two goals for the Bears, as did forward Nick Meldrum (no’s 20 & 21 of the season). Defenseman Tim Greer added two assists, while Elliott Yoon and Luke Goodnough each added a goal.
Three separate players got on the board for the Redhawks: Owen Preisler, Will Packer, and Willie Siebel. Goalie Rhett Johnson had his hands full as North Royalton attempted 36 shots, converting 30 for saves.
GAME 6 (Pool C): Hilliard 7, Westerville 1
Hilliard Hockey Club had a short drive around Columbus to knock off the Westerville Warcats in their own back yard, 7-1.
Forward Caleb Bussey got Westerville on the board first, with a goal at 13:06 in the first period. Jaxson Gillespie evened things up at 6:42 for Hilliard, with the first of his two goals in the game. His teammates did the rest.
James Schwinne III was a part of three assists for Hilliard, while Sam Dello (1 goal) and AJ Sawicki contributed two apiece.
Follow along with tournament action at the link below.
