MANCHESTER, N.H. — In the most anticipated prep hockey matchup of the season, No. 2 seed Avon Old Farms took down top-seeded Cushing to win the Stuart/Corkery Elite 8 championship, 3-1, on Sunday.
It all came down to the third period.
With the score tied, 1-1, the Penguins took two boarding penalties within 22 seconds of each other. That gave Avon Old Farms a 5-on-3, and the Winged Beavers cashed in immediately.
Avon Old Farms defenseman Jordin Palmer sifted a shot through from the point, which was stopped. But then Joe Connor, the Winged Beavers' leading point-getter, passed the puck to Joe Odyniec, who knocked one past Cushing goalie Cooper Rautenstrauch to net the eventual game-winner.
Cushing pulled Rautenstrauch with 1:44 to play. The Penguins tried and tried to score, coming closest when Landan Resendes hit the post. But it wasn't enough and Avon Old Farms forward Alex Pelletier sent it the length of the ice for the empty-net goal.
The scoring didn't start until the second period.
FULL RESULTS AND BRACKETS: Elite 8 | Large School | Small SchoolÂ
Less than four minutes into the middle frame, Avon Old Farms forward Charlie Gollob sent a pass to teammate Wonjun Yun, who fired a one-timer past Rautenstrauch to make it 1-0.
Then, halfway through the second period, Cushing responded when the Penguins were swarming the Avon Old Farms net. The puck was loose and forward AJ Sacco found a way to it and slapped it in, knotting the score, 1-1.
Here are the takeaways from the matchup:
1. This one lived up to the hype. These were the two best teams in prep hockey and they played like it Sunday. Each team's best players attacked the opposing net just as hard as they got back to defend their own. It came down to one period and Avon proved to be the better team.
2. Cushing blocked a ton of shots, doing whatever it could to get in front of Avon's opportunities. There was a sequence in the second period when defensemen Raphael Marcoux and Ryan Philbrick both blocked high-end scoring opportunities for the Winged Beavers.
3. Avon goalie Stephen Peck faced some Grade-A chances from Cushing and did a great job stopping them. Cushing center Jack Costanzo knows that well — he was robbed by Peck in the first period, denying him a sure goal. Peck's numbers were sparkling this season — a 1.27 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage.
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4. Avon's top line of Connor, Gollob and Odyniec was terrific. They were smothering at times in the offensive zone and they transitioned well through the neutral zone. All three have boosted their stocks this season.
5. It wasn't the result Cushing was looking for, but still — what a season. It will be interesting to see how much of this talented roster returns next year. Lots of Penguins stayed on the ice long after some of their teammates left to get a glimpse of Avon Old Farms hoisting the trophy. Is that just to savor their last minutes in a Cushing uniform or added motivation for next season? We'll see.
