Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Knights crowned playoff champions

Press Release

Matt Cessna’s overtime goal - his second of the game - in Monday’s (March 18) decisive Game 3 of the Atlantic Junior Hockey League (AJHL) Playoff Championship Series lifted the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights to a 3-2 victory and the 2013 AJHL playoff championship over the Northern Cyclones.

The Knights won the best-of-three series, 2 games to 1, after falling to the regular-season champion Cyclones, 2-0, in Game 1 on Saturday before rebounding with a convincing 9-2 triumph on Sunday.

Cessna, a 1993-born forward from Chicago, was named the Most Valuable Player of the Playoff Championship Series.

The Knights swept their way to the finals, defeating the Boston Jr. Rangers, 2 games to 0, in the first round of the playoffs before disposing of the Connecticut Wolfpack in the semifinals, 2-0.

In Game 3 of the finals, Knights forward Nick Carey opened the scoring in the first period before Cyclones forwards Kevin Valenti (first-period marker) and Brian Bowen (second) countered to give Northern a 2-1 lead.

Cessna tied the contest with just 22 seconds left in regulation before his overtime heroics ended the series to give the Knights their first-ever AJHL championship.

Goaltender Mike DeLaVergne manned the nets for the Knights; J.J. Solloway was between the pipes for the Cyclones.

All three games were contested at Cyclones Arena in Hudson, N.H.

 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)

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