Game Summary |
Please see Team Summaries, below |
Team Summaries |
Bellevue Notes: No notesIssaquah Notes: Issaquah 2-2-2-0- 6 Bellevue 3-1-1-0- 5
Battle of unbeatens lived up to the hype as the 4th quarter provided all sorts of excitement despite the lack of a goal being scored. Six different goal scorers and a series of huge defensive stands earned Issaquah the win as they shutout the Wolverines for the final 22 minutes of the game!
Bellevue got out first with a simple dodge and dump from Hank Bethke to Campbell Alexieff. Issaquah responded as Zach Fritz found Josh Bean sneaking from behind. Bean wrapped a righty shot low to beat Cole Cansler and knot the game. Alexieff scored on the crease again, this time from the high slot to put the Wolverines back up. The seesaw continued as Matt Thomas ripped a low lefty shot from the high crease as well, off a feed from Ryan Egland. Appeared the quarter would end deadlocked but with under 10 seconds left, Hank Bethke dodged from X and finished himself when Issaquah failed to slide.
Bellevue took the first and only two-goal lead of the night when Bethke found younger brother Joe, slipping to the crease with a back cut for a catch and finish. But Issaquah bounced back. After some good ball movement, Mikey Giannopulos caught on the back side and hitched by two defenders to reach the middle and finish himself. With under two minutes left in the half Zach Fritz called his own number. This time Bellevue failed to slide as Fritz dodged from a high wing, so he promptly place a lefty show low and underneath Cansler.
The 2nd half became a defensive battle. Both teams stood tall on defense and both goalies made saves while each team struggled to clear the ball at times. Both sides riding groups were very disruptive. Hank Bethke picked off a clearing pass and the breakaway resulted in a shot bouncing off two pipes and being ruled a goal as the Wolverines took a 5-4 lead at 10:16 in the 3rd quarter. Once again, Issaquah responded and in fact would not allow Bellevue to score again.
Ryan Egland finished a lefty rip on a man-up chance off a skip pass to tie the game with just under 6 minutes in the quarter. Minutes later, Jake Collins took advantage of an unsettled situations, rifling a shot that hit two pipes and found net behind Cansler. Issaquah had its first lead of the night and a big defensive stand to end the quarter kept the advantage into the 4th.
Issaquah had several chances in the quarter to extend the lead but Cansler kept the door closed. Equal to the task Jordan Dondoyano made several big saves to keep Bellevue at bay. Issaquah had a chance to clear with under a minute left but failed and gave Bellevue a final possession. Issaquah's defense stood tall though, deflecting shots and keeping the net clean.
A big game ball to freshman, Nate Holbrook on defense. A halftime adjustment moved Holbrook to guarding Hank Bethke in the 2nd half. Though Bethke finished with 2g,2a, his only point in the 2nd half was the breakaway goal.
Jordan Dondoyano finished with 10 saves.
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