BEXLEY, Ohio (April 26, 2024) -- Rocky River bounced back from a Tuesday setback with a Friday win in the front half of a two-day visit to the Columbus area. Riding a 12-save effort from freshman netminder Gordon Hudson and a five-goal fourth quarter, the Pirates defeated Bexley 10-3.
The Sons of Blackbeard set sail in the fourth with a tenuous 5-3 lead. That lead had been time and again protected by Hudson, who had already turned aside seven shots in the first half and two more in the third stanza. In the final frame, the steady freshman stopped the Lions (8-3) on their first two shots.
At the other end, seniors Andrew Lang (at 10:11 of the fourth) and Rowan McDougal (at 8:39) scored early-period goals to give Hudson and the Buccaneers double the cushion. With Hudson making one more save and the Double-R tripling up on twine-finders of their own, Rocky River blanked Bexley 5-0 in the fourth to pull out the 10-3 triumph.
For the game, the Pirates outshot the Lions 31-24. Both sides put 15 efforts on frame.
Buccaneer box-score stand-outs were Michael Bebie (one goal, two assists), Cohen Blair (five ground balls, three caused turnovers), Lang (2G), McDougal (3G, 1A, 4 GB), and Joe Smith (4G).
The Pirates (10-2) were a minus-3 in turnovers and still managed the seven-goal win.
Stellar goalkeeping has that effect.
Rocky River will close out its trip with a Saturday 2 p.m. game at Olentangy Berlin.
by Skip Snow
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