“In the first two periods, we were kind of star struck,” junior forward Reid Pehrkon said. “We were a young team again, and a lot of us weren’t in that situation before. But those of us that were here last year and have been on the team multiple years, we knew what it took.”
The Bears were caught unawares as Bullis (13-7-5) began the first period aggressive and physical. After a shot bounced around in front of the goal and slipped past Landon goalie Daniel Rosenstock (24 saves) five minutes in, Bullis maintained control for much of the period before adding to their lead on a breakaway by Bullis defenseman Davian Peretti 23 seconds before intermission.
But Landon (14-2-3) responded in the second period. About 30 seconds in, senior defenseman Graham Haberl took a shot from distance that clinked off the bar and ricocheted in to get the Bears on the board. Ten minutes later, Pehrkon passed to senior forward Christian Daymude to the right of the net, and he knocked it in for the tie.
“Both of our goals in the second period were from sustained [offensive] zone pressure because we got back to our structure,” Landon Coach Alex Parker said. “We got through all the craziness of the first period.”
From there, the Bears looked unstoppable. A messy battle on a Landon power play in the third gave the Bears their first lead of the game, and Pehrkon scored twice on breakaways to seal the win.
The Bulldogs seemed to get more physical and frustrated as the game slipped away. Scuffles broke out, and Rosenstock was repeatedly hit in the chaos in front of the net.
“The tension was at a high when they realized that they had little chance to come back,” Pehrkon said. “So emotions kind of boiled over.”
Despite the body checks, Bullis couldn’t solve Rosenstock after the first period, and the freshman said the win was worth taking a beating, especially if Landon can keep this championship run going.
“It’s in your mind. It’s in the back of your head,” Rosenstock said as his team hoisted the trophy and tossed gloves, sticks and helmets into the air. “You hear about the legacy of these games from the upperclassmen. Being part of a young team, it’s about starting our own legacy.”