BROOKLYN, Ohio- The Brooklyn Hurricanes and Aurora Greenmen took the ice for a Baron Cup III Semifinal showdown on Saturday afternoon. The winner would take on the CVCA Royals, who defeated Mayfield earlier in the day. Brooklyn would punch their ticket to the championship game with a 4-2 victory.
The game started off with a very eventful first frame. Tomi Pirinen would strike fast on two occasions, giving the Greenmen a 2-0 lead within the first three minutes of the game. The Greenmen were looking very dominant until Joe Capretta would set Aurora at a disadvantage for the remainder of the game. Capretta would get called for a five-minute major for kicking and then sent to the locker room early for a game misconduct. Brooklyn would answer late in the opening frame, as Nate Coyle would score on the power play caused by the Capretta penalty. The teams would head into the break with Aurora leading Brooklyn 2-1.
The second frame was all Brooklyn, as Matt Crossman, Aaron Wrost and Travis Nieves all found the back of the net to make it 4-2 going into the third period.
In the third period, Tomi Pirinen would give Aurora a sign of life with his third goal of the game with 6:48 left. Pirinen’s hat trick would swing the momentum into the Greenmen’s favor. Aurora would battle near the crease of Beau Reinhart and with five seconds left, Patrick Murray would force the equalizer into the net.
“It was ridiculous, crazy.” Murray said. “It was a last minute thing. I think it domed off the goalie’s head and just went behind him. Everybody was fighting for that last goal.”
The two teams would head to overtime even at four apiece.
In overtime, Nick Capretta would find an opening and get the game-winner past the defending Reinhart to send Aurora to the Baron Cup III Championship.
Capretta talked after the game about the emotions of a hard-fought win. “Definitely tired. I saw it bounce off the goalie and I just dove for it and it got in.”
Capretta added this when talking about the second comeback win of the Baron Cup for Aurora. “We don’t like to do it, but we tend it do it more so. But hey, it makes for a better memory.”
Aurora’s Head Coach John Sheridan talked about what was said before the final frame to get the Greenmen back in the game. “I told the team after the second period ‘If we get that third goal before they get the fifth, we win this game.’ And that’s what happened. I said create a memory and the one player just stood up (after the game) and said we just created a memory.”
Aurora plays CVCA in the Baron Cup III Championship on Sunday at 1pm.
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