2:23 p.m.
Hey guys Andrew Goldberg here again live blogging on another beautiful day here at PPL Park in Philadelphia. Today we have the youth of the Charlotte Hounds and the experience of the Chesapeake Bayhawks facing off in today’s championship game for the Steinfeld Cup. We are a little over 30 minutes away from the opening faceoff. Stay tuned for live updates as we approach gametime.
2:42 p.m.
Coach John Danowski just joined us in the booth and we got the opportunity to ask him some questions about Duke, Dave Cottle coaching style, the rookies in the game as well as everything else with the championship game! Great coach, even better coach.
2:52 p.m.
A little under 8 minutes until gametime. Something to note is that both teams split the regular season matchups this season with Charlotte winning in overtime in the first game and the Chesapeake winning the last game of the season. Teams are about to come out to the field.
3:00 p.m.
Just got done with the national anthem here at PPL Park. About set for faceoff.
3:07 p.m.
A little bit of a late start here but Geoff Snider and Adam Rand are about to faceoff here at PPL Park.
3:07 p.m.
Chesapeake wins the opening face and clears successfully and sets up on O
3:08 p.m.
Adam Ghitelman with a nice start to the game as he saves a shot from Westervelt. Then Ryan Young scores the game’s first goal with an inside roll. 1-0 Hounds.
3:10 p.m.
Ben Hunt tries for a two point attempt from the middle of the field but Ghitelman reads it for his second save. Sawyer then hits the bottom of the opposite post. Then White tries to go behind the back but Kip Turner records his first save.
3:12 p.m.
Chespeake gets the ball on the other end. Nice ball movement by the Bayhawks and Powell goes behind the back to Ben Rubeor to tie things up at 1 with 10:38 left.
3:13 p.m.
Turner makes back to back saves on Young and another Hound to keep the score tied. Young absolutely shook his man out of his shoes though and Charlotte will keep using double dragons on the faceoff.
3:15 p.m.
Charlotte possession ends with a shot clock violation as we hit the first tv timeout here at PPL park. Still 1-1.
3:18 p.m.
Play about to start back up here. Bayhawks about to clear in their own end in left corner.
3:20 p.m.
Casey Powell scores for the Bayhawks on an invert on Josh Hawkins. May have gotten away with a bit of a ward but no call. Beats Ghitelman low. Bayhawks up 2-1.
3:21 p.m.
Different tune to today’s game. Much slow pace and the faceoff advantage that Charlotte enjoyed yesterday seems to favor the Bayhawks in the early going.
3:23 p.m.
Two shot clock violations already, one for each team. Something you don’t see everyday. Charlotte on O.
3:24 p.m.
Charlotte in transition and Kip Turner stuffs a Matt White shot going for the five hole as we head to another TV timeout here at PPL. Still 2-1 Bayhawks.
3:27 p.m.
Bayhawks on the clear as we restart play.
3:28 p.m.
Bayhawks turn it over on the clear as Charlotte gets control on O. Charlotte really rides hard. Tripucka on the other end attempts a two pointer but Turner sees it easily and the Bayhawks are back on O.
3:31 p.m.
Ryan Young strikes again to knot things up at 2 with 31 seconds left. Beat his man behind the cage and snuck it past Turner.
3:32 p.m.
John Grant Jr. scores a goal with 1 second left off a pass from Ben Rubeor to put the Bayhawks up 3-2 at the end of the first quarter. Rubeor paid for the pass though as he got laid out by Mason Poli.
3:34 p.m.
Quick note on the game, Kip Turner is on fire right now and seeing the ball well. Has six saves on eight shots. Ghitelman two saves on five shots.
3:37 p.m.
Charlotte on O here and Matt White hits the outside of the net as the Bayhawks attempt to clear and Turner turns ir over on the clear.
3:39 p.m.
Michael Kimmel called for a penalty as Charlotte goes on the power play. And Chesapeake’s penalty kill prevails.
3:40 p.m.
Reynolds makes a leaping interception of a Danowski pass and Bayhawks are on O. Bayhawks go on the power play after Josh Hawkins is called for a 30 second pushing penalty.
3:42 p.m.
Bayhawks turn it over on the power play and both teams go 0-1 on their first attempt. Ryan Young tries to get a close shot but gets put into the crease on his attempt. Bayhawks ball on O.
3:43 p.m.
Matt Mackrides goes down the right side and shoots high into Ghitelman’s stick. The pure definition of popcorn. Hounds back on O. They would definitely like to speed this game up. This is the tempo the Bayhawks want.
3:45 p.m.
Danowski turns it over again as he doesn’t look the ball into his stick. TV timeout and the Bayhawks will be set to clear when we restart play.
3:49 p.m.
Bayhawks clear attempt is good and go on O. Westervelt attempts a long range shot but Ghitelman saves it five hole and the Hounds are back on O.
3:50 p.m.
Danowski not looking good as he throws a bad pass that is picked by Turner and goes the other way. Bayhawks turn it right back over and Danowski takes a two pointer that goes wide. Poli then tries a quick stick from GLE and losses it. Bayhawks on O now.
3:52 p.m.
Grant Jr. on the goal as he rips one high past Ghitelman. Powell on the assist as he beat Cittadino on a nice in-and-out move. Bayhawks up 4-2 now with 3:30 left.
3:53 p.m.
Danowski attempts a nice two pt shot after a nice move off a pick but Turner gets a piece. Then White throws it away a couple of seconds of the restart.
3:54 p.m.
Ghitelman makes a save on a Bayhawk shot but the Bayhawks go on the power play as Jake Tripucka is charged with offsides.
3:56 p.m.
Chespeake turns it over and Charlotte clears but Peet Poillon gets caught in a double team and there is a scrum that ends with Spallina getting the ground ball and Chesapeake calls timeout.
3:57 p.m.
Interesting note here to look to for rest of the game is two former Maryland teammates going at it as Jesse Burnhardt is matched up on Ryan Young. Both players instrumental to team’s success and Dave Cottle knows what Young can do.
3:58 p.m.
Grant Jr. with his third goal of the afternoon as time expires. An absolute back breaker as it appeared the Bayhawks wouldn’t get a shot off. Westervelt with the assist as he got pummeled to the ground. Bayhawks go into halftime up 5-2 now.
4:03 p.m.
Stats from the first half. Faceoffs are completely even as both teams have won four of them. John Grant Jr. leads all scorers with three goals while Casey Powell has two assists and a goal as well. Ben Rubeor with two points also.
Charlotte has Ryan Young to thank as he has the lone two goals for the Hounds.
Goalie Play: Turner is on fire with 7 saves on nine shots while Ghitelman has five saves on 10 shots.
Charlotte leads the ground ball battle with 16-14 advantage. Both teams have not scored on the power play. Charlotte 0-1, Chesapeake 0-2.
4:09 p.m.
Charlotte needs to stop turning the ball over and letting Chesapeake determine the tempo of this game. If they continue to do that. The Bayhawks will run away with this one by a wide margin in the second half.
4:10 p.m.
Second half starts here and Rand and Snider get into another scuffle at the faceoff X with Snider prevailing and the Hounds with the first possession of the half.
4:12 p.m.
What a dazzling save by Turner on Young. Young beat his man and shot it off stick low. Turner saw it the whole way and made a spectacular save. That is his eighth of the afternoon. Really playing strong for the Bayhawks and that has been the difference today.
4:13 p.m.
Bayhawks turn it over on a bad shot that was deflected by the Bayhawks. Hounds settle on O. Poli gets an open look on O but Turner makes another point blank save.
4:14 p.m.
Hounds regain possession though and are on O. Another turnover though as Haus can’t handle the pass. Bayhawks settling on O now.
4:15 p.m.
Crazy turn of events. Grant Jr. ends it with a goal on a behind the back goal as Schmidt tries to save the shot and he did initially but it trickled in. Bayhawks up 6-2 now.
4:16 p.m.
After Ghitelman picked up the ground ball Hawkins wins a ground ball in the middle of the field and shot the ball on the break. Hit Burnhardt in the back and then ball came down for the Grant goal.
4:17 p.m.
Ryan Young completes the hat trick. Jake Tripucka gets the assist as the Hounds cut the deficit in half.
4:19 p.m.
Charlotte wins the faceoff. And Ryan Young strikes yet again! Tripucka sets the pick on Polanco and frees Young up for the goal. Chespaeake leads Ryan Young 6-4.
4:21 p.m.
You may be sick of my Maryland references but i remember Maryland going to the national title game two years ago with Ryan Young leading the way during the time his mother battled and eventually lost the fight with cancer. That inspired the MY t-shirts. This is his second taste of a championship and he has certainly been the only one who has shown up for the Hounds.
4:22 p.m.
Play about to restart with a faceoff. Looks like we got ourselves a little bit of a game here. 6-4 Bayhawks.
4:24 p.m.
Drew Westervelt converts on a low to high shot to put the Bayhawk back up by 3. The assist goes to Kyle Dixon. Young had an opportunity for his fifth goal of the afternoon before that but hit the pipe.
4:26 p.m.
Ghitelman stops and easy stick side hip shot and then Turner responds with a save of his own. Matt Abott goes in transition and takes a shot but Ghitelman turns it away off his thigh. A little back and forth action.
4:28 p.m.
Haus turns it over on offense as the they continue to build for the Hounds and the Bayhawks control it on offense. Hounds really shooting themselves in the foot.
4:29 p.m.
Michael Kimmel loses the ball with five seconds left on the shot clock and then quickly finds Matt Mackrides on the crease who beats Ghitelman high to put the Bayhawks up 8-4 as we take a timeout here at PPL Park. Hounds really allowing some backbreaking goals.
4:33 p.m.
Hounds really need this faceoff and the offense to put one in here. Need someone else besides Young to score.
4:33 p.m.
And on cue the Hounds shoot themselves in the foot again by getting a loose ball push. Ghitelman with the save which leads to a Hounds fast break opportunity but Sawyer had clear lane to shoot and passed it up to Danowski for a two pointer.
4:35 p.m.
Peet Poillon with a two point attempt but is denied by Turner and the Bayhawks settle on O again as the third quarter winds down.
4:36 p.m.
Third quarter ends with the Bayhawks still up 8-4. Westervelt almost extended the lead on a quick rip but hit the post and it went out of bounds. Hounds will need to push tempo and stop turning the ball over if they hope to win. Can’t try two point shots as Turner is seeing the ball really well.
4:40 p.m.
Hounds get a break with a goal as Kip Turner loses his stick. Sawyer on the goal and Young gets the assist. Missed a great opportunity before that where Danowski had an open net but Burnhardt came out of nowhere to deflect the shot. 8-5 Hounds.
4:42 p.m.
Hounds get the ball on O but turn it over in the middle of the field and Bayhakws going to settle it on O. Flag is also down and it seems like an offside or interference penalty.
4:43 p.m.
Rubeor comes around and shoots one high on Ghitelman but it is saved. Correction on the penalty, Danowski gets a one minute non releasable penalty. That could be huge if the Bayhawks van convert, Danowski really invisible today.
4:44 p.m.
And the Bayhawks convert as they work beautiful ball movement as Ben Hunt feeds Drew Westervelt on the crease who cranks one high on Ghitelman. Bayhawks up 9-5 10:45 left.
4:46 p.m.
Attendance for today’s game is 3,792. Considering yesterday was 4,228 that is pretty solid number. Over 8,000 for the weekend.
4:48 p.m.
Young restarts the action and goes right at Burnhardt from GLE. Dives across crease but it is checked out of his stick/saved by Burnhardt and Turner. Leads to a penalty on Jeff Reynolds and an unusually quick power play goal by Peet Poillon to cut the Bayhawk lead to 9-6 with 9:44 remaining.
4:52 p.m.
Hounds get another opportunity on the power play as Adam Rand gets a penalty for illegal procedure. Hounds get another goal as Sawyer rips one low on Turner and Ryan Young gets the assist. Young has been a part of every Hounds goal. In the words of Dick Vitale this kid is PTP’er, prime time player. Off to TV timeout.
4:55 p.m.
Geoff Snider gets a huge faceoff win and is now 14-19 on the day. Hounds can cut this to one. Annnnnnd Danowski gets moved into the crease, been absolutely terrible for the Hounds today. Bayhawks on O
4:56 p.m.
After Abbott hits one off the pipe from a foot beyond the crease the Bayhawks score as Westervelt gets a pass from Mackrides and the Bayhawks go up 10-7 with under 7 minutes.
4:59 p.m.
Charlotte forces a shot clock violation with 4:30 remaining and go on the offensive here. Still 10-7.
5:00 p.m.
Tripucka forces an ill-advised pass near the top of the two point arc and it sails out of bounds. Not what the Hounds needed. May be the end for the Hounds.
5:04 p.m.
Play resume with the Bayhawks on O looking to kill some time. 2:50 remaining. Grant Jr. tries an over the should shot but hits Ghitelman in chest and then Ghitelman hits Westervelt who was wide open on the crease. Charlotte gets ball on O and ABott intercepts a pass then runs into trouble and the Hounds get the ground ball. Timeout is called by the Hounds. 1:36 remaining down 3.
5:06 p.m.
Gotta believe that the Hounds are drawing up a two point play right now.
5:07 p.m.
Predictabl;y so look for Sawyer who misses wide from two point range. Tripucka then gets stuffed by Turner. Peet Poillon then tries a diving shot and go to outside of net.
5:08 p.m.
Chesapeake with the ball and clears successfully with 47 seconds left they call a timeout. 44 seconds on the shot clock but the Bayhawks will win this one up three.
5:12 p.m.
Bayhawks run out the clock here and get a shot clock violation wit 2 seconds left. Danowski then shoots the ball from half field and it gets deflected or something and goes in to end the game at 10-9 in favor of the Bayhawks. And there you have it the Bayhawks have won the Steinfeld Cup for the fifth time in the team’s history. They have the most MLL championships in league history.
5:13 p.m.
John Grant Jr. is the game’s MVP as he had four goals for the Bayhawks.
5:16 p.m.
Final game stats:
Charlotte: Ryan Young finishes with four goals and three assists. Mike Sawyer with two goals and Tripucka with an assist. Danowski with the late two point goal.
Chesapeake: Grant Jr. with four goals, Powell with three points, Westervelt with four points, Rubeor and Mackrides with two points each and Kimmel and Dixon with a point each.
Ghitelman had nine saves on 19 shots while Turner had 14 saves on 22 shots.
Geoff Snider was 15-20 on faceoffs for the afternoon.
5:19 p.m.
So that does it here at PPL Park for the 2013 MLL Lacrosse season. A great ending to a great weekend. For all of us here at In Lacrosse We Trust we thank you for listening to the pregame show and following all of the action from the weekend on our website. See you guys next year in 2014!
