Garrett Mitchell
J.L. Mann fires a goal past Riverside's goaltender.
Garrett Mitchell
Riverside and J.L. Mann players battle.
Peyton Lambrecht and Mark Blasko had outstanding games for the Warriors but it was not enough to overcome the strong play of the Cavaliers' Chase Poplin who scored eight goals.
Christ Church claimed a 2-0 lead on goals from Conrad Pentaleri and Poplin before Riverside answered with a Lambrecht goal at the 5:19 mark of the first quarter. The Cavaliers led 4-1 at the end of the period as Poplin scored twice more in the final three minutes of the period.
The Warriors fought back in the second. The teams traded goals in the opening minutes, Blasko and Lambrecht scored on consecutive possessions to trim the Warriors' deficit to 5-4.
Christ Church answered with two goals to end the half, with one each from Pentaleri and Poplin, to take an 8-4 lead at the break.
After Pentaleri scored to open the third quarter, Lambrecht scored his final two goals in succession to once again trim the margin to 9-6. Riverside would get no closer the rest of the way.
"We started slow," said Riverside coach Jay Black. "We gave Christ Church a lead early and we weren't doing the little things we could as a team on both sides of the ball. Every time we would get one (goal) they would get two so they were just killing us on it. They're a great team."
Poplin scored four more goals in the fourth quarter to keep the Warriors struggling to rally. Blasko found the net for a third time with 59.1 seconds to play but his strong effort, which included winning multiple face-offs, would not be enough.
Blasko's efforts were not lost on Christ Church coach Shane LeCroy.
"Blasko, he's a monster," LeCroy said. "He killed us tonight. Peyton (Lambrecht) had a heck of a night. We knew he could score but Blasko just kept (Riverside) in the game all night."
Riverside outshot Christ Church by a 32-23 margin. Christ Church recorded five assists to Riverside's two and the Cavaliers saved five shots to the Warriors' four.
"Peyton led the team as he always does," said Black. "He stepped up for the attack and did really well. Blasko just killed it. He was in a zone. Christ Church was doing everything they could to hold him. We told him before, if you've got it take it down there and bang it in."
Box score:
Riverside
Shots - 32
Goals - 11 (Peyton Lambrecht 5, Mark Blasko 3, Harrison Meltzer 1, Clay Walters 1, Henry Evans 1)
Assist s- 2 (Clay Walters, Jordan Adams)
Saves - 4 (Ryan Porter 4)
Christ Church
Shots - 23
Goals - 14 (Chase Poplin 8, Conrad Pentaleri 5, Austin Hayden 1)
Assists - 5
Saves - 15 (Cole Berube 15)