Published: April 11, 2008 01:59 pm         

Rockwall hockey checks Plano West, falls to Frisco in playoffs

PLANO – Rockwall (13-10-2) outlasted a tough Plano West team in nail-biter in the first round of Silver League playoffs only to fall to top seeded Frisco in the second round on April 3 at the Dr. Pepper Star Center in Plano.

In the opening round of playoffs, Rockwall jumped on the board early in the opening frame against Plano West. Zack Jones stole the puck in the neutral and drove deep in the Wildcats zone passing to Josh Kinnear found a gap in the crease for the netter. The goal was the 5th of the season for Kinnear and fifth assist for Jones.

But the game turned into defensive match with aggressive skating and hard checking backed by excellent goalie play on both sides. The Rockwall defense, lead by senior Sam White, senior Travis Stockard, Matt Kinnear, and Chase Kimberling combined to limit Plano West to only 14 shots.

Rockwall goalie Landon Cain turned in a fine performance with 13 saves.

Rockwall had a number of scoring opportunities including break-aways by Preston Roberts and Joey Ullmann, but the Plano defense held firm.

With less than four minutes remaining in the game, Plano knotted the score with a power play goal.

The game looked headed for overtime when with three seconds left, senior Wade MacDonald drove deep into the right side of the Wildcat zone then fed Morgan Cook crossing the high slot for a rocket shot that the goalie never saw. Final 2-1.

In three previous games against top seeded Frisco (22-2-1), Rockwall had come up short but had always contended until the very end of the game. The April 3 quarterfinal playoff match up appeared no different at the start.

On the initial face off, Garrett Phillips won the puck and drove into the Frisco zone passing to Chris Thirion who found a gap in the goalies pads for his 18th goal of the season.

Rockwall continued to mount surges in the 1st period, with Chris Rogers and Brandon Bambico both getting good scoring changes, but the Frisco goalie showed why they are the least scored upon team in the Silver League.

Through the second and third periods, Frisco’s speed proved difficult for Rockwall to defend. Though goalies David White and Cain combined for 13 saves, Rockwall suffered through six unanswered goals.

Rockwall continued to push deep into the zone, with seniors Dustin Roy and Tyler Abbott both pressuring Frisco, but the defense held.

With five minutes left in the third, Cook drove into the Frisco high slot and got the defense to commit before feeding the puck to senior Jory Tedder who found the high left corner of the net open for his 14th goal of the season.

Frisco added 2 more goals with time winding down for a final 8 to 2 and a date in the semi-finals.

“The team went down fighting and held their pose against a strong Frisco team,” Mark Burack, head coach said. “We will miss our graduating seniors. They contributed both character and leadership to make Rockwall Hockey a success.”

The Rockwall Ice Hockey Club will be participating in Summer League at Ice Training Center starting in May. All 8-12 grade athletes from Rockwall, Royse City, and Wylie ISD’s are welcome to participate.