ROCKY RIVER, Ohio — The high-flying offense of the Rocky River Pirates was at it again on Friday, as the Maroon & White whipped up seven twine-finders in a 7-2 victory over the Olmsted Falls Bulldogs on Friday evening.
Sophomore winger Danny Asmar scored three goals to lead an offensive attack which has now netted 19 goals over three games this season. Rocky River (3-0) allowed a pair of goals in the first period, but the Pirate defense and junior netminder Ethan Mylett combined to keep a lid on the River cage the rest of the way.
Friday’s action marked day one of the Friday-to-Sunday Tim Alexander Memorial Thanksgiving Tournament, a seven-team invitational hosted by the Pirates.
It took Rocky River all of 23 seconds to get its first goal of the evening, a Danny Asmar marker on assists from Luke Witzigreuter and Nolan Weaver. Asmar would pot another goal five minutes later, going coast to coast after receiving the puck from Matt Stueber in the Pirate defensive zone. Stueber would score one of his own, banging home a 44-footer on a feed from Luke Mallett at the 4:58-mark. And the River lead stood at 3-0.
The visitors got two back over the final three-and-a-half minutes of the opening period: one on a 54-foot slap shot, the other on a wraparound effort than caromed off Mylett’s right skate. The Pirates led, 3-2, after a first period that saw the home side dominate in puck-possession time. To that end, River held an 11-2 edge in offensive-zone faceoffs over the opening 15 minutes of play. The Pirates outshot the Bulldogs, 19-5.
Rocky River’s one-goal cushion would make its way to the back half of the second period. An apparent goal at the 5:35-mark was disallowed due to the net coming off its moorings before the score. But moments later, senior captain Nolan Weaver scored to double the Pirate advantage. Off nifty possession work provided by Luke Witzigreuter and Danny Asmar, Weaver slotted a pinpoint rifle shot through a top-shelf opening the size of a smallish turkey sandwich. Sixty-five seconds later, Weaver assisted on Witzigreuter’s fifth goal of the season
The Pirates put 16 shots on goal — to the Bulldogs’ two — in a middle frame that ended with the home side owning a 5-2 lead.
Mylett made a high-degree-of-difficulty stop at the 2:54-mark of the second and would three more acrobatic saves over the final five minutes of the third. He finished with 10 total saves in going the route.
The third period was another 2-0 exhibition of Rocky River puck possession. Asmar closed out his hat trick with a power-play goal at the 3:50-mark of the final period. For the game, the Sons of Blackbeard went 1-for-5 with the man advantage (the Olmsted Falls power play went 1-for-3). River’s final goal of the night came on a well-timed pass by Asmar to Weaver on an odd-man rush.
Rocky River outshot Olmsted Falls, 17-5, over the third period 52-12 for the game. The seven goals marked the Pirates’ most in a single game since Feb. 8 (8-2 vs. Midview), a stretch of eight games.
River has now downed Olmsted Falls in 12 straight contests. Since 2000, the Pirates are 27-7 against the Bulldogs.
Asmar finished his night with three goals and an assist. Weaver added two goals and three assists; he has a team-high 13 points (four goals, nine assists) through three games. The Pirate offense has managed 50-shot games in three straight.
VIA Skip Snow vnn network River
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