Game of the Day


Honeybaked goaltender Zach Borgiel comes up with a big save against the Chicago Mission. (Photo by Total Sports Imaging)

Familiar Foes Leave It All On The Ice At Nationals

When it comes to the rivalry between Honeybaked and the Chicago Mission, there are few surprises and no secrets. What you see is what you get, which is typically a no-holds barred street fight on ice that often comes down to a bounce of the puck.

With a spot in the semifinals on the line, the puck happened to bounce Honeybaked's way on Saturday in a hard-fought 3-2 victory.

Kristof Papp second goal of the game at 10:33 of the third period proved to be the difference and an amazing save by Zach Borgiel in the final seconds made sure it held up.

"It was a great game by two really, really good hockey teams," said Honeybaked head coach Jason Deskins. 

"What can I say about our goalie? He's had a good first game of the tournament so we rolled with him because of that, and he made us look pretty smart."

This marked the eighth meeting of the season between two of the top programs in the powerhouse High Performance Hockey League, with Mission holding a slim series edge. But a revamped tournament format placed even greater emphasis on each preliminary-round game, making this meeting the biggest of the season for both teams.

After losing in semifinals of the state playoffs, Honeybaked had three weeks to lick their wounds and get ready for a trip to Pittsburgh. That preparation appeared to pay off as they handled their first two opponents, and came out flying on Saturday morning at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

Two goals scored 36 seconds apart gave Honeybaked the early lead. Papp got things started with an unassisted goal, and Ben Badalamenti converted a beautiful Ben Schultheis feed after a Mission defenseman coughed up the puck.

Down but definitely not out, Mission used the early deficit as a wake up call.

"I just told our kids to keep their composure. There was a lot of hockey left," said Mission coach Gino Cavallini. "If it got a little uglier it would've been a little more of a fire drill, but in these situations you just have to keep the kids composed and focused. We have enough explosiveness up front to score goals."

When you have players like Alexander Turcotte and Matthew De St.phalle on your side, a comeback is only a quick strike away. And Mission struck quickly in the second period as the talented tandem teamed up to get their team even.

First it was Turcotte on the receiving end of a give-and-go after splitting through the Honeybaked defense and slipping a backhander past Borgiel. Then it was De St.phalle's turn to cash in a beautiful feed from Turcotte on the power play.

Getting the right bounce in a game is more than just a matter of luck. It's often the result of hard work. That was at the heart of the winning goal at 10:33 of the third period. Badalamenti's  persistence on the forecheck forced a turnover and Papp made no mistake in slipping his second goal of the game inside the left post.

That set the stage for Borgiel to seal the victory with a save worthy of a SportsCenter mention. As the clock ticked close to 0, Mission continued to press for the equalizer. Brian Silver's shot from the point pinballed off a stick and landed on the stick of Alexander Vlasic, who was staring at a wide open net. Borgiel made a desperation lunge at the puck and snared it with his glove to preserve the win.

"It comes down to a save like that," Deskins said. "In the end your best players have to make big plays. That's not the first time he's made a save like that. As a coaching sometimes you can look good because you have really good players."

The road doesn't get any easier for Honeybaked as they face another familiar foe with more than just date in the championship game on the line. They get another shot at top-seeded Compuware, the team that knocked them out of the state playoffs.

"They're the number one seed for a reason," Deskins said. "They're the best team in the country and it's going to be up to us to find a way to compete. We'll need our goalie to make a few more big saves and then find a way to score a few goals."

It's another showdown between two battle-tested programs that credit the competition in the High Performance Hockey League for preparing them for Nationals. 

"We play such a high end schedule all season long," Deskins said. "Every game's a battle, every game's a grind. We're beating each other up six or seven times a season, and it prepares you for what you face at the national tournament."


Game-winning save