BROOKLYN — Friday night’s 6-1 Baron Cup II Tournament semifinal victory over the Solon Comets came at a heavy price for the Kenston Bombers.
With less than five minutes remaining in the second period, Kenston goaltender Doug Revak made a save and held onto the puck, creating a stoppage. A less-than-friendly exchange between the Bombers and Comets ensued in front of the net.
When the referee separated the teams, he escorted Kenston senior forward Colton Deeter to the rink entrance and disqualified him from the rest of the competition. Because it was Deeter’s second disqualification of the season, his prep hockey career met an abrupt ending.
"He’s gone for the season," said Kenston coach Jim Revak. "We’ve lost him for the rest of the year, including state. He’s our leading scorer, leading in goals, leading in assists. That’s what you just took out of our lineup. He’s going to be a huge loss for us."
Those sharing the ice with Deeter at the time of his disqualification felt the penalty was rather one-sided.
"What really set (us) off was when they did not get a penalty and we had two," captain Greg Revak said. "No. 8 (John Hannah) came straight off their bench, bowls into Colton, hits him in the stomach. If you get hit in the stomach, your head’s going to go forward which made it look like a head-butt. Really, he was just there. Everyone’s in front of the net. It’s always just a hockey thing. He wasn’t even on the ice; he had to come off the bench."
Deeter had made his mark on the game before being disqualified. Kenston defenseman Tony Santo controlled the puck in the corner and sent it up the near boards to Deeter. Santo’s pass gave the Bombers a 3-on-1 odd man rush up the ice. After switching from the forehand to the backhand, Deeter put the puck past Solon goaltender Kyle Peterson on the stick side.
The loss of Deeter proved especially difficult to deal with in the short term. The Bombers (29-2) were upset by the Rocky River Pirates (23-7) in the Baron Cup II finals. Deeter’s loss is compounded by the fact that the Ohio High School Athletic Association playoffs start this week. Kenston plays Sunday morning against either Cleveland Heights or Canfield in the second round of the Kent District.
The one upside to playing without Deeter in the Baron Cup II Tournament was the continued offensive production from Greg Revak and Kyle Weninger. Revak and Weninger both had two third-period goals against Solon. Each of the players had one shorthanded goal, which helped turn a 2-1 game into a route over the Comets.
"Greg seemed like a possessed guy in the locker room," coach Revak said. "He said he wanted to get the first goal and he actually did. In general, we moved the puck really well.
"Kyle and Greg have worked since they were 11 years old together, especially on penalty kills," he added. "That certainly turned the game over and put it away for us, absolutely."
Rocky River’s win over Kenston may have been an upset, but considering the way Friday night ended, the Pirates had a lot of momentum coming into the game. Rocky River faced a two-goal deficit in the second period, but third-period goals from Matt Garibaldi and Max Lurie had the Pirates rolling. They begin the postseason on Wednesday night against the Bay Rockets.
"I give them a lot of credit for fighting back," said Rocky River coach Chris Cogan. "We didn’t have any choice. We had to come back and we had to finish strong.
"We were giving up the home-run pass there and the D wasn’t paying attention," he added. "I told the guys, 'We’re getting our chances down in front of the net; we’ve just got to keep staying down there, fight through it and bury one of those loose pucks.'"
More Ohio preps stories
2.
Regina begins final playoffs. After a come-from-behind road victory at perennial Division IV powerhouse Berlin Hiland,
Regina has once again found its groove. Though they want to defend their Division III girls basketball championship from a season ago, the Royals, who are in the midst of their final year with the school closing down in the spring, want to cement their place in Ohio girls basketball history with one last title. They face Richmond Heights in sectional play this week.
3. Wellington girls district heats up: The Regina Royals may be competing in Ashtabula this season, but the Loudonville Red Birds girls basketball team took their place in Wellington’s Division III district tournament. Loudonville is 16-1 and faces Rocky River Lutheran West in its tournament opener. The Red Birds are ranked No. 7 in the latest state poll released by the Associated Press.
4.
Columbus Africentric moves up a division. The Nubians won the girls Division IV state championship over the Hiland Hawks last season, but find themselves in the Division III playoffs this year. Based on enrollment,
Africentric moved up to Division III in the offseason.
5. Findlay Liberty-Benton ranked in boys and girls polls. The Eagles'
boys team is ranked No. 1 in Division III and carries an undefeated record into the final days of the regular season. The
girls are also ranked No. 1 in Division III by the Associated Press.
Top performers
* Lakewood St. Edward junior Delbert Love hit a 3-pointer with less than five seconds remaining in Friday’s game against archrival St. Ignatius. The Eagles pulled out a 57-53 win over the Wildcats, thanks in large part to Love’s 12 points and 18 from Myles Hamilton. The Eagles trailed by 19 points in the first half.
* East Cleveland Shaw’s Tyrone Williams. Williams, who signed a Letter of Intent to play football at Ohio State this fall, had 25 points, 15 rebounds and blocked a pair of shots in the Cardinals’ 75-69 Lake Erie League win over Southview.
* Justin Fritts scored 21 points, while Cole Krizancic and Cameron Aloisio added 20 each in Mentor’s 97-63 win over the Bedford Bearcats on Friday.
Looking ahead
* Southview at Admiral King boys basketball, Saturday night at 7: With the news of Southview and Admiral King merging into a new "Lorain High" next season, Saturday’s matchup will be the final regular-season meeting. However, the loser of the game will have one final shot at redemption when the Saints and Admirals meet in the first round of the Division I boys tournament next week.
* Sectional wrestling tournaments, Friday and Saturday nights. The St. Edward Eagles and Wadsworth Grizzlies are the odds-on favorites to win the Division I Wrestling State Championship in Columbus on March 6, but before either team punches their tickets to the state tournament, they have to make it through the Southview and Medina sectional tournaments over the weekend.
* Mansfield Senior High School boys basketball games Friday and Saturday. The Tygers travel to Lexington and return home Saturday to face West Holmes High School. Though Mansfield Senior has wrapped up the Ohio Cardinal Conference, the Tygers are looking to stay sharp with a week in-between the regular-season finale and playoff opener.
Matt's minutes
As the boys basketball regular season comes to an end, the playoffs in girls basketball, swimming and diving and wrestling get underway in the next week. It is arguably the busiest and perhaps the most interesting time on the year for coaches, players and fans alike. With games being played in gyms and at rinks across the state of Ohio, it is a sports fan's dream. So while everyone is hoping for championship glory, I offer these final pieces of advice: Sit back and enjoy some good games and matches. Be humble in victory and gracious in defeat. Remember the athletes on the floor often take cues from each other and the fans in the stands.
Matt Florjancic currently works as a freelance reporter and sports show host for WOBL and WDLW.
