GRCC 4 EGR 1

Don't let the final score fool you. This was a 15-round slugfest. GRCC and EGR went toe-to-toe for 41 minutes and 3 seconds until the Cougars' John Dery delivered the knockout punch in the form of sick wrister from the left dot late in the third. The goal broke a 1-1 tie and silenced the rowdy EGR student section, while propelling Catholic Central to the win and a berth in the regional finals against Mattawan this Saturday evening.

This was a superexcellent game. Both teams played with skill and hustle, and the goaltending by Adam Janecyk (GRCC) and Ian McDonald (EGR) was nothing short of phenomenal. McDonald's glove save on Kevin Boman's backhand deke late in the third (while the Cougars were killing a 5-on-3, no less) was one of the best saves I've seen all year. Just downright robbery. His stretched out glove save on Clayton Brackett's low, far-corner slapshot in the first period was pretty larcenous, too. At the other end, Janecyk's 35 saves, especially his work during a second period flurry where he made four saves in a row on the left side of the net was vintage Janny.

Boman, for his part, was only robbed once. He scored the Cougars' first goal on the powerplay early in the second period, stealing the puck on a face off, winding through traffic and slipping it in short-side. East Grand Rapids tied it up 2:46 later when Joe Glendenning chased down a Greg Afendoulis pass and slipped it backhand to Drew O'Brien in front of the net. Janecyk made the initial save, but O'Brien pounded home his own rebound to tie the game at 1-1.

That's where the score remained, despite some great chances for both teams. With 7:10 left in the game, Dery took a penalty for cross-checking and then was joined in the box 1:43 later by Paul Ziemke, who was taken off for interference. That gave the Pioneers a brief 5-on-3, during which Boman stole a puck and moved in alone on McDonald, who made the spectacular glove save mentioned above. The crowd erupted and began cheering louder than they had all evening. Shortly after the ensuing faceoff, Dery charged out of the box, and Boman found him alone by the left dot with no one between him and McDonald. The Cougar senior ripped it far-side to the back of the net, and then turned to the stunned and now silent EGR student section and raised his arms. Boman and Tim Kane were credited with assists on the game-winner.

EGR pulled McDonald to try to get the equalizer, but Boman scored an empty netter with 43 seconds left (assists to Brackett and Ziemke) and then Dery added a second empty netter (assist to Matt Kane) to make the final margin 4-1. Shots were 36-24 in favor of EGR. Janecyk gets the win. Congratulations to the GRCC seniors, who move on and a tip of the hat to the entire EGR team, particularly seniors McDonald, Corey Domin, Ekco Morgan, Blaine Stahley, Devon Olsen, Billy Azkoul and Cullen Haskins, who was scratched because he was ill. A great game where everyone who played left it on the ice.