The Bergen County Tournament Final lived up to the hype at the IceVault in Wayne on Wednesday night. Fans piled in to watch these two hockey powerhouses go at it, which made it an incredible atmosphere.
In the first period, it looked like Don Bosco may have scored to jump out to a 1-0 lead twice but both times, there was no goal awarded, and both goalies had shutouts going into the 1st intermission. This was a great sign for the Crusaders, holding off a powerful Don Bosco offense through one period of play.
The second period looked like more of the same from Don Bosco. The Ironmen were able to control the puck early and often and were putting shots on the Bergen Catholic net. Bergen goalie Erez Yacobi refused to let anything get by him and stopped every shot Don Bosco put on the net.
The turning point came late in the period when the Crusaders were awarded a power play and had a chance to jump in front. Declan Quinn found the back of the net on a beautiful wrap-around score off an assist from George Weiner, putting Bergen Catholic up 1-0 to end the second period.
Both teams lined up for the third-period faceoff, and everyone in the arena had the same thought on their mind; “Can BC hold on with just a one-goal lead for an entire period”. The Crusaders came out quickly and immediately increased their lead to 2-0. Rohan Ogden picked a perfect spot to score his first goal of the year, and he did it unassisted.
The Ironmen, now trailing by two scores, turned the heat up and threw anything they could at the net. Yacobi continued his stellar night and got in front of everything that came his way. Max Wright put a bow on the evening with an empty-net goal, and the Crusaders' upset was complete. Yacobi finished the night with 41 saves and easily was the 3-star player of the night.
Bergen Catholic handed Don Bosco their second loss of the year and first in their division on a night Crusaders fans will be talking about for years to come.
