The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Pirates capture eighth Baron Cup title
For the eighth time in program history, the Baron Cup is back in Rocky River
The Pirates knocked off Red North rival, Shaker Heights, 2-1, on Nov. 11 at Brooklyn’s John
M. Coyne Recreation Center to claim the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League’s top prize.
“I was watching the Olympics last night and Red Gerard goes, ‘It’s just another hill,’ ” Rocky River senior Ted Stueber said. “So we went, ‘This is just another game.’ We played out hearts out and got a good outcome.”
The eighth Baron Cup title pushes the Pirates into second all-time with University School, trailing only Shaker Heights’ 11 Cup victories.
But make no mistake. The Red Raiders made sure that Rocky River (21-10-0) earned the title.
“They’re systematic and a great team,” Rocky River coach Chris Cogan said.
“I think if you look back over the last four years, it’s been us and Shaker winning this thing. It was great to get that last look at them and come out on top today.”
For Stueber, the victory is the perfect cap to his league playing career, as he started as a freshman claiming the Baron Cup I and then got to lead his team to one as a senior captain.
“That’s the most exciting thing for me,” Stueber. “We opened the book with a good year and we closed the book with a good year. I’m really excited about our win both times. It was good competition both times, first against Kenston (as a freshman) and then against Shaker today.”
After a scoreless first period that was at times dominated by Shaker Heights (23-7-2), Stueber opened scoring in the second period, knocking in a rebound on an Eddie Zuercher shot.
“I saw hope,” Stueber said of his goal. “I saw hope that we could pull through. That we could do it. That we could get momentum. And that we could eventually win the game.”
Three minutes later, Hayden Weaver extended the Pirates’ lead on a great drop-back pass from Danny Asmar.
The extra cushion proved vital, as Shaker Heights cut the lead in half in the third period on a goal by Stephen Straffon with 9:40 to play.
“They’re good,” Cogan said. “Even with a lead, we knew we couldn’t let up at all. Give them a bit and they can take advantage of it.
“I just think over the last two weeks we’ve done some things differently as far as preparing for games. I think the guys have carried that over and we’ve been playing better as a team.”
Holding a one-goal lead, the Pirates had to make one final stand.
With a minute left, Shaker Heights wanted to pull goalie Owen Tafe to get an extra skater on the ice. However, the Pirates refused to let the Red Raiders enter the offensive zone, keeping Tafe on the ice until 20 seconds remained.
“We kept stressing that we don’t need another goal,” Cogan said. “We’ve got a high ceiling here. Flip the thing in the air, get it out of the zone. If the puck isn’t in our zone, they can’t score.”
That is when things got a bit interesting.
A cross check by Rocky River allowed Tafe to come off the ice and gave Shaker Heights a 6-on-4 advantage, along with a faceoff in the Rocky River defensive zone.
However, Rocky River senior goalie Ryan Dunning wasn’t worried.
“Honestly, I was thinking, ‘We’re winning this game,’ ” Dunning, who made 26 saves in the win, said. “I never had a doubt in my mind we were going to win.
“Twenty seconds with a faceoff in our zone. Teddy had a crucial win and we put it out of our zone, then we kept it down there.”
And, as the puck sailed into the Shaker Heights defensive zone, the Pirates began their celebration. “It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Dunning said. “Last one was freshman year and I wasn’t even playing. For this to be the first one playing, it feels really good. It hasn’t hit me yet, but it’s going to at some point.”