Brother Rice fights past Trenton to advance to D1 state final
PLYMOUTH >> Ryan Marrone’s goal with 13:07 remaining in the third period gave Birmingham Brother Rice the lead for good, and the Warriors hung on to defeat the Trenton Trojans 4-2 in the Division 2 semifinal hockey playoff game Thursday night.
Marrone’s goal came on a quick tic-tac-toe passing play from Peter Rosa, who went behind the net to Andrew Marrone, who then found his brother Ryan barreling down the slot for a quick one-timer.
The Warriors dominated the third period after the first two periods had been evenly contested. But Brother Rice outshot the Trojans by a wide margin, including a 19-2 edge at one point before Trenton pulled the goalie trying to tie the game late. The constant pressure in the third period eventually led to an insurance goal from Brett Harris, his second of the game.
The line of Harris, Rosa, and Alex Hamady accounted for three goals and seven points and was consistently the most dangerous line for either team
all night.
“I think we’ve been playing together for a couple of weeks now and we’re starting to click” Rosa said. “I think we’re playing with pace and we’re moving the puck. We started clicking at the right time, and I think that we’re doing what we need to do, producing and it’s helping
the team. And we’re getting depth from top line to bottom line. Everyone is producing and helping us.”
The Warriors would need all the insurance they could get as Trenton battled down the stretch and pulled to within one goal with the goalie pulled when Rory Szezepaniak banged
in his second goal with 1:22 left to make it 3-2.
“We could have hung our heads and went home, but we didn’t,” Trojans head coach Chad Clements said. “We battled and battled, and we had a couple of chances when it was 3-2 and with the goalie pulled, so I was proud of their efforts. But hats off to Brother Rice. They were the better team tonight.”
Peter Rosa, who had a threepoint night, finished the scoring with an empty net goal as Trenton tried for a trying goal.
The MIHL rivals needed the better part of a period to get the offenses going as the teams felt each other out to start. But the offenses picked up in the second period as the pace of the game increased. Brett Harris got the Warriors on the board early in the period, giving Brother Rice a 1-0 lead with 12:31 remaining
in the middle period.
Trenton fought back to tie the game on Szezepaniak’s first goal, which came with just 22.2 seconds left in the second period and set the stage for the third-period dramatics.
“They just kept at it. They showed up from the first puck drop and kept going the whole game. It was a little frustrating there in the second, but they stuck with it. It was a little bit of a tough break at the end
of the period, but I’ll give them credit. They came out and took care of business in the third, “Warriors head coach Kenny Chaput said.
Trenton goaltender Luc Miklos turned in an outstanding performance, stopping 40 shots to keep the Trojans hanging around, especially in the second and third periods when Brother Rice was piling up shots.
“Luc stood on his head, and I’m proud of him. From not playing a whole lot last year to being our man this year and starting,” Clements said. “The improvements that he made are incredible,
and he gave us a chance to win. That’s all you can ask your goalie to do each and every night is give you a chance to win. He gave it to us; we just couldn’t get enough past their goalie.”
Brother Rice (14-4) moves on to Saturday’s final against Byron Center. Game time will be 11 a.m. at the USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth.
“It means so much,” Harris said. “We’ve been wanting this our whole life, and to get this opportunity senior year for me and for a lot of the guys on the team, it’s just a great opportunity.
We’re taking full advantage of it now. We’re very positive right now.”
Trenton finishes its season 13-8.
“I’ve been here a long time. This is my fourth year. This is the most special team I’ve played on. I couldn’t be more proud of any of the guys, the bond we had,” Trojans captain Caleb Kneiding said. “It was the least talented team I’ve played on in four years, and the way we got guys to sacrifice their bodies and just really play their hearts out, play above what their potential was and buy in made us greater as a team.”