Avon hockey wins tournament opener over Strongsville

The Avon hockey team exacted its revenge on Strongsville Thursday, defeating the Mustangs in the opening round of the sectional tournament despite having lost to them twice during the regular season.

Playing at the Brooklyn Recreation Center, the Eagles jumped to a 5-0 lead after two periods and then held on to up their record to 11-16-1. Avon entered the tournament as the No. 13 seed, while the 8-18-2 Mustangs were seeded No. 12.

Sophomore Fisher Stone opened the scoring with an unassisted goal with 8 minutes, 8 seconds left in the opening period. Just over three minutes later, senior Carter Free added another unassisted goal, making it 2-0 going into the second period.

The Eagles added three goals within a two-minute span to open a 5-0 lead in the second period. Stone started things with his second goal—this time with an assist from Reece Mammilo—quickly followed by goals from Charlie Brunner from Zach Snyder, and Snyder unassisted.

Strongsville made things interesting in the third period, tallying three goals within 47 seconds, but the Eagles held on for the victory.

Avon, which got 28 saves from freshman goalie Jack Gutz, next plays fifth-seeded Westlake Saturday at Brooklyn.