ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira Aviators (22-27-5-4) defeated the Rochester Jr. Americans (36-21-1-0) 4-3 at the LECOM Event Center Friday night.
The Aviators showed tremendous compete and energy throughout the night, going toe-to-toe with the defending East Division champs.
After going down 1-0 early, Elmira responded less than two minutes later through pretty passing. Jake Baratta fed Max Campbell across the slot, who whisked a one-timer to level the score at one.
The purple and black grabbed its first lead midway through the second period thanks to another precision passing play from Campbell and Baratta.
This time, they were both assisting as Campbell fed Baratta in the slot, who then put it on a plate for the trailing defenseman Kevin Delaney. The Aviator blue liner wired a wrister to the top corner to put Elmira up 2-1.
The Aviators scored their third unanswered goal in the third period. Ilya Baldin capitalized on a Rochester turnover, moving the puck in tight and sliding it to the far post for a slam dunk for Evan Dantas.
Dantas is up to a team-leading 25 goals on the season.
However, just as Elmira was finding comfort late in the third, Rochester stormed back, answering Dantas’ score less than a minute later. Then, the East Division’s leading scorer, Ryan Shaw, equalized with a snap shot on the rush for his 38th of the season.
Instead of putting their heads down, the Aviators upped the energy after the game was tied. Elmira hunted pucks and added pressure, eventually paying off in a triumphant climax.
The 2005-born Aviators are skating in their final games of junior hockey this season. One of those players is Elmira captain Brenden Bedorf, who played in his 98th consecutive game on Friday.
With about six minutes to play in the third period, the Aviators turned the Jr. Americans over. Baratta, who ended the game with a hat trick of assists, once again found Max Campbell in the high slot.
This go around, Campbell’s blast missed the target, but it caromed off the back glass out the other side perfectly to Bedorf, who slid the puck into the gaping cage, sending the LECOM Event Center into a frenzy.
The tally is just the fourth of Bedorf’s NAHL career, and what a special goal it was. In the final weekend of his junior career, Elmira’s captain goes and scores a late winner against its in-state rivals.
The Aviators will try to make the final night of the 2005-born players’ junior careers as special as the penultimate one when they face off against the Jr. Americans once again on Saturday night.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. Fans can stream the action on NATV or listen live on WINGZ93.
Mac Young is the play-by-play voice of the Elmira Aviators. To contact him, email [email protected].