ROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- Rocky River defeated the Wooster Oilers 4-3 on Friday. In a contest that marked the opening of River's Tim Alexander Memorial Tournament, the Pirates closed out a back-and-forth contest with a Sean McDonough goal late in the third period.

Pirates (1-2) trailed 2-1 after one, trading a Ben Greenfield marker for two by the visitors. Rocky River leapfrogged Wooster in the second when Grayson Hess and Luke Skapoulas registered unanswered twine-finders on a pair of special-teams goal. But the Oilers battled back to tie the game 3-3 with a goal in the second minute of the third. McDonough's goal -- the first of the sophomore's career -- came with 4:06 remaining in the contest.

In the second frame, Hess' goal was a short-handed number; Skapoulas' was a power-play goal assisted by Owen Toole. For the game, the Double-R penalty killers went 4-for-5; the power-play went 1-for-4.

Niko Rose logged 16 saves in a contest that saw the Pirates outshoot the Oilers 33-19. Josh Zimmerman tallied 29 saves for the visitors.

Rocky River will continue tournament play with a pair of games against two more club teams on Saturday. The Pirates are slated to take on the Cleveland Wildcats at 10:30 a.m. and Team Ohio at 5:30 p.m.

by Skip Snow

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