Brockport jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead just 4:21 into Saturday’s game, but RIT answered back only 34 seconds later and then it was off to the races. The Tigers rattled off 10 unanswered goals to win the Rochester Hockey Cup 10-1.
The first period was relatively even, with both teams skating well. Brockport jumped on the board first when Nate VanKouwenberg sent a blast from the point through a screen that hugged the ice all the way in to the back of the RIT net at 4:21.
RIT answered back almost immediately at 4:55. Freshman Mike Tarantino sent a wrister from the faceoff circle towards the net that linemate Peter Bournazakis deflected in. The two teams skated even for the next 10 minutes with neither being able to gain a noticable advantage.
This lasted until RIT was able to break the tie at 14:36. Jerry Galway and Peter Bournazakis combined on a give-and-go down the Brockport slot. Galway finished off the play when he lifted in Bournazakis’ rebound.
It looked like penalty trouble for RIT would give Brockport the opening that it was looking for early in the second period. A major penalty on Tiger Jared Conlon with just 15 seconds left in the first period gave Brockport a jump early in the second.
“If they (the refs) keep throwing our guys out, we won’t have anyone left to put on the ice,” said RIT coach Wayne Wilson.
The Golden Eagles put strong pressure on the RIT net, but couldn’t get anything in the back of the net.
RIT’s Errol McDonald scored about a minute after the penalty was over, beating Brockport netminder Tom Payment high, to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead.
Penalty trouble struck again for RIT, as they found themselves trying to kill a 5-on-3 at the eight-minute mark. Once again Brockport, put on big pressure, but the Tiger defense held.
“I thought those (kills) were key. It kind of broke the bubble open,” said Wilson.
And it truly did break the bubble open, as the Tiger offense kicked in to high gear. They rattled off three more tallies by Jerry Galway (11:23), Josh Faulkner (13:40), and another by Galway (19:19) on the power play to take a commanding 6-1 lead by the end of the second period.
The offensive onslaught of RIT continued in to the third period, although play got a little chippy during the second half of the period. The Tigers outshot the Golden Eagles 34-13 over the course of the last two periods.
Faulkner (:54), Adam George (3:50), Josh Myers (14:08) and Peter Bournazakis (14:43) all tallied to make the final score 10-1 and give RIT the championship.
All Tournament Team: G — Tyler Euverman (RIT); D — Nate VanKouwenberg (Brockport), Matt Moore (RIT); F — Mike Bournazakis (RIT), Bryan Bowser (Geneseo), Josh Faulkner (RIT); MVP — Jerry Galway (RIT).
