By Joe Soccoa
The Aviators did exactly what they said they we’re going to do and swept Roc City out of the building. It was a highly intense battle and goals were scored. The Aviators scored 19 goals in the two games to handily beat the visiting Royals.
The Aviators kicked it off Friday night and veteran Dominic Sacco got the night started 1:03 into contest with a power play goal. Alexei Pilatsky duplicated his effort less than two minutes later and the Aviators were up 2-0. Roc City were able to get on the board in the closing minutes of the opening frame to cut it to 2-1 on a power play goal from Justin Allen.
The second period was an explosion of goals; five of the seven that were scored came from the Aviators. Nick Jean-Louis, Martin Grinberg and a natural hat trick by Daniel Backstrom scored goals by the boys in pinstripes. Backstrom fired off the three goals all in a span of three minutes and the Aviators were up 7-3. The Royals were able to grab two in the period.
In the final frame, Sean Lake added to the scoring party and extended the game to 8-3 before two goals back to back by Roc City made it interesting. It was captain Jimmy Warrick who kept the lead in check and added two goals for himself to finish off the 10-5 rout. The big man in net Stephan Mundinger made 47 saves on 52 shots faced.
Game two of the series took place the following night with the Aviators completing the sweep with a 9-5 victory. The story in the game was the not the goals but the combined 183 penalty minutes, 107 of which taken by the Royals. It was a different start from the night before. The Royals came out looking to extend the series and opened a 4-2 lead and dominated the first 20 minutes of play.
The message was clear for the Aviators; they knew it was a poor start and needed a better effort in period two and they got it. A four-goal outburst put the Aviators in the lead 6-4. Sacco, Backstrom, Warrick, Jean-Louis, Pilatsky and Grinberg were all on the score sheet.
The third period saw all the fireworks but with three more goals, the Aviators sealed the deal. It’s now on to Jersey Shore where a best-of-three series awaits this coming weekend. The winner moves on into the finals. It’s a tough test but the Aviators have the talent and poise to move forward.
