Hopewell upsets Robbinsville in semifinals
WEST WINDSOR >> The third time is the charm for the Hopewell Valley/Montgomery ice hockey co-op against Robbinsville/Allentown.
After previously losing twice this season at the hands of the Ravens, the Bulldogs came out victorious against R/A in the semifinals of the Mercer County Tournament Monday afternoon.
The 3-1 win puts Hopewell in the MCT final for the first time since winning it all in 2008.
“We played a full 45 minutes of hockey. It took a lot of discipline and preparation,” Hopewell head coach Jeff Radice said. “I have to give the kids a ton of credit. They executed everything that we asked of them. I’m very proud of them.”
This game started fairly similar to the prior two matchups between these two sides. A scoreless first period gave way to Robbinsville opening up the scoring early in the second.
Sophomore Zach Duggan scored less than a minute into the second period, his 12th of the season, to give the Ravens a lead.
Then a flip was switched for Hopewell, who turned into the more aggressive team in the offensive zone. A couple of blocked shots and timely Zander Wiley saves kept Robbinsville in front, but a tripping penalty handed Hopewell its first man-advantage of the day.
The Bulldogs scored 14 seconds into the powerplay to tie the game. Wiley saved an initial shot from the left faceoff dot, but sophomore Dylan Yasher got his stick on the redirection before Wiley could cover up, poking it through his legs for the goal.
Two minutes later, Yasher took the puck toward the boards behind Wiley before zipping it in front of the net to Logan Camillieri. The sophomore calmly corralled and fired the puck past Wiley’s blocker for his eighth goal of the season, giving Hopewell its first lead of the night.
Hopewell would carry a 2-1 lead into the final period. Despite having a twoman advantage to start the period, the Bulldogs were unable to generate any real chances.
However, about 30 seconds after the penalty kills for Robbinsville, Hopewell’s Bo Ruger whipped a puck toward the front of the R/A net that deflected off a Raven and into the net, handing Hopewell a 3-1 advantage.
Robbinsville valiantly put together a comeback effort, but Hopewell’s Blake Echternacnt stood tall in net, saving all 12 of R/A’s shots in the third period.
“We’ve had some anger built up inside of us. We took that anger out today. We had a plan of what we wanted to do and executed it perfectly,” Echternacnt said. “My defense was great in front of me. They were blocking shots all day, keeping them on the outside. They couldn’t really get anything done on the power play.”
Echternacnt finished with 26 saves, and Hopewell finished the day as one of the two finalists in Wednesday’s MCT title game.
It was a disappointing result for Dan Bergan’s Robbinsville squad. Aspirations of lifting a county title have been exhausted. The Ravens now look forward to their chances in the state tournament.
“[My message after the game] had nothing to do with hockey. At this stage, strongminded young men should be able to take people chirping at them.” Bergan said. “If that’s what gets them off their character, then we’ve got longer to
go than I thought. But these are good boys. They will respond very well in the right way.”
Hopewell will meet the
winner of Princeton and Paul VI, who matchup in the second semifinal Monday night at the Mercer County Skating Rink.