Highlands Ranch | Dominik Sachikov had been thinking for a long time about how to celebrate his goal during Tuesday night's Class 5A ice hockey state quarterfinal contest.
Although the energy was low as the Cherry Creek co-op team and Mountain Vista competed in marathon minutes at the South Suburban Sports Complex, the senior forward had a chance to celebrate his biggest goal of the season so far.
Sachikov slipped on a loose puck after a collision on the Golden Eagles' side and knocked the goaltender low to his glove side for the golden goal, as the third-seeded Bruins defeated the sixth-seeded Golden Eagles. , decided to join the Frozen Four. Coach Jeff Mielnicki's Cherry Creek team advanced to the semifinals against No. 2 Valor Christian, which defeated No. 5 Denver East 5-3 on the same ice in the previous quarterfinals.
Less than five minutes into the game, the Golden Eagles were first on the scoreboard. After the first save, Kyle Barnes knocked a loose puck in under the pads of Cherry Creek goaltender Jack Ryan (Cherokee Trail).
The Bruins started a power play and needed just six seconds to even the score, which lasted until less than four minutes left in the period. Senior William O'Grady (Grandview) fired a shot through traffic and into the top of the net. Another play within the final two minutes resulted in senior Dominik Sukov's cross-ice pass being passed by Daniil Kolobeinikov for the go-ahead goal.
The second period continued to be a tough 5-3 affair, which ultimately ended in a draw. The Bruins canceled his one penalty, but another was called seconds later. They got one back and had 26 seconds left when Jayden Huang took a shot past Ryan.
Junior Austin Katz, who was in the penalty box for the final penalty, broke the tie again with a power-play goal with 2:18 left in the period.
Mountain Vista quickly tied the score in the third period, when Aiden Moretti won a faceoff, pucked up the ice along the wing and hit a long shot, leading to Ryan (who had 47 shots for the game). (stopped 44 shots). ) and is connected to the back of the net. The Golden Eagles were unable to capitalize on a power play opportunity at the end of regulation, ending the game.
The second quarterfinal set is scheduled for Wednesday, starting with top-seeded Regis Jesuit vs. No. 8 Standley Lake at 5 p.m., followed by No. 4 Monarch vs. No. 12 Heritage at 7:30 p.m. continues.
Courtney Oakes is the sports editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Please contact us at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
Cherry Creek 4, Mountain Vista 3 (2OT)
Scores per period:
Mountain Vista 1 1 1 0 0 — 3
Cherry Creek 2 1 0 0 1 — 4
Scoring
1st period: Mountain Vista — Kyle Barnes (Tyler Hodge), 12:49; cherry creek — Billy O'Grady (Charles Keating, Eric Berggraf) (Power Play), 3:59; cherry creek — Daniil Korobeinikov (Burggraf, Dominik Sukov), 1:37
2nd period: Mountain Vista — Jaden Huang (Nicholas Bryson, Hodge) (power play), 6:08; cherry creek — Austin Katz (Ethan Robbins, Mario Lyles) (Power Play), 2:18
Third period: Mountain Vista — Aiden Moretti, 16:27
2nd Overtime: Cherry Creek — Suchikov (Korobennikov), 3:05
Mountain Vista saves: Ethan Cairo (39 shots – 35 saves). Cherry Creek saves as follows. Jack Ryan (47 shots on goal, 44 saves)
