Both Benet Academy and York received a bye all the way to the sweet 16 of the Blackhawk Cup. The Redwings haven’t played a game in over a month while York is coming off a 3 game series against New Trier Green in the Scholastic Hockey League Playoffs. This is the 1st meeting between these two teams this season.
Scoreless early in the 1st. Will Sammons makes a beautiful move to create a 2 on 1 break, but his shot is saved by Thomas Weslowski.
York takes a 1-0 lead, but the Redwings are working with a power play. Will Sammons takes the puck from behind his own net and takes it the entire length of the ice, deking by the York defense and firing it home. The CCHL’s scoring champion ties this game at 1.
The Dukes look to retake the lead before the end of the 1st. Chris Lee centers to Mikey Kamienski, but AJ Grzbek with the sprawling save and the Benet defense clears the danger.
In the 2nd the Dukes get some more dangerous scoring chances, but AJ Grzbek stands his ground making a couple of big saves. The game heads to the 2nd period all even at 1.
A couple minutes later, York continues their attack. They get some action behind the net. Tyler Bare centers to Bradley Lynch in the slot and the Dukes now lead 2-1.
The Redwings have a power play with 4 minutes left in the 2nd. Charlie Chmelik with a great keep in. He lets the puck fly, but the shot is saved by Thomas Weslowski. York leads 2-1 heading to the 3rd period.
5 minutes into the 3rd, the Redwings receive another power play. Will Sammons once again shows us why he’s an All State player. He fights off a defender and center to Mason Kosowski for the equalizer. Still plenty of hockey to be played in this one.
The Dukes win the ensuing faceoff and immediately go to work. Grzbek poke checks the puck from Collin Stasica, but it goes right to Billy Paschen. He backhands it past the netminder to give York a 3-2 lead.
Tim winding down for the Redwings, but the Dukes were relentless in this one. Chris Lee gets the puck on net and Jack Ray finishes it off to put this game away. York advances to play New Trier Green in the quarterfinals of the Blackhawk Cup. Benet Academy falls in the sweet 16 of the Blackhawk Cup for the 2nd consecutive season.
