The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Baron Cup win caps revival for Avon Lake
After going from two wins three seasons ago, the Shoremen topped Normandy, 8-1, in the Baron Cup III final.
Avon Lake won’t call it the crowning moment of a program revival. But make no mistake, the program’s first Baron Cup title is a high-water mark.
After going from two wins three seasons ago, the Shoremen topped Normandy, 8-1, in the Baron Cup III final on Feb. 11 at Brooklyn’s John M. Coyne Recreation Center.
The win was the 25th of the season for the Shoremen.
“Starting off we had maybe two wins my freshman year,” senior Jared Aslaksen said. “And then before I was even there we had one win the year before. Now having a 25-win season, it’s not something that happens often.”
The Baron Cup title comes a season after the Shoremen were knocked out in the first round of the Baron Cup III tournament in spite of being the top seed.
Senior goalie Cam Stepka said that the win is a bit of redemption of the
Shoremen.
“We’ve been working for this for three years now,” Stepka, who made 21 saves, said. “We’ve had it stolen from us one way or another for the last two years. And this year, we didn’t just win. We stole the Baron Cup. We didn’t just play to win the game. We played to make a statement.”
The feeling of being the first Baron Cup champion in program history is one that Aslaksen said will take a bit to sink in. However, the excitement was already there.
“It hasn’t really (sunk in),” Aslaksen said. “I have to give it a little bit, but it’s four years well worth it. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
And make no mistake, Avon Lake (25-6-0) played like a team determined to make its mark.
The Shoremen went up just under a minute into the game on a goal by Aslaksen, extended the lead to 2-0 four minutes later courtesy of freshman Murphy Mohar and ended the period up, 3-0, with a goal from senior Connor Koncelik.
“It was huge,” Avon Lake coach Fran Sullivan said of scoring early and often. “They were a little nervous. I mean, they were loose and goofing off before, but you can’t help but be nervous, right? It was absolutely huge.”
Koncelik notched four
goals and three assists, including three unassisted goals in which he brought the puck up from the defensive third of the ice.
“You know, it wasn’t just met,” Koncelik said. “All of my teammates are out there giving me the puck and working hard. All three, four lines contributed and they all knew their roles. And that’s how it all came together.”
While Koncelik may have had three unassisted goals, Sullivan said someone deserved an assist.
“I had a little fun with him (Koncelik) because he broke in twice and shot it right at her (Normandy goalie Hannah Franz) glove twice,” Sullivan said with
a laugh. “I just said, ‘Connor, you have to go into the front of the net and deke.’ So he came back on that first unassisted goal and I said ‘You know, I get the assist on that one.’”
After Koncelik’s fourth goal, Aslaksen notched his second of the night and sophomore Nick Ospelt capped the scoring.
“It’s amazing,” Sullivan said of winning the Baron Cup III. “I’m almost kind of speechless. My first thoughts are that a lot of people have put a lot of time and effort into this. In the lean years, Matt Wozniak, my son (Keegan Sullivan), those guys and others really paved the way for today. ”