Visualeyes Wins Game 3: Headed to EMHL Finals

It was do or die for Team Visualeyes' season Wednesday night. A win would send them to the Finals against Elmwood Cozumel, but a loss would break out the golf clubs early. Andrew Valint made sure his golf clubs would stay in the basement and his skates would need at least one more sharpening this year, leading the way for Team V with his first career hat-trick.

Visualeyes eliminated Third Street Tap Room, 5-2, with the win on Wednesday. Strong play from both Adam Roma and Andrew Valint helped Team V secure their spot in the finals.

THE BIG VEASY NETS 3

After missing Game 2 on a trip to our Nation's Capital, Valint looked to add the extra spark Team V missed in the Game 2 loss to Tap Room. Valint's fresh legs broke the scoreless first period wide open on a beautiful backhanded rebound after a Garren Reisweber shot on goal. "Scoring first was huge," said Drew Leberer, "We struggled all series getting going and knew that the first goal in Game three was important. AV just stood his ground in front and got that first one for us." Valint came right back on his very next shift, ripping one of his signature slap-shots from the right wing. The puck trickled past the goal line after Tap Room's goalie got a piece of the puck, but the pure power behind the shot led to the goal. Visualeyes took the 2-0 lead into the second period.

Strong defensive play on both sides kept the score at 2-0 for most of the second period until Dan Brown unloaded a quick shot from his off wing from Max Bonito. Valint wasn't done at two, finishing off his hat-trick on another rebound in from Eric Schottke. "Yeah it was a compete team effort. From rock solid D to explosive offense. I was just happy to contribute. I was flying on all cylinders, burying every way possible, forehand, backhand and a clapper." said Valint.

Team V took the four goal lead, but knew they still had plenty of work to do. Tap Room answered right back, controversially beating Roma for the first time with 7 minutes to go in the second. A long home-run pass from deep in Tap Room's end somehow snuck under a diving Leberer in the neutral zone and found a Tap Room player breaking towards Roma. The shot looked as though it hit the cross bar and then repelled out to the blue-line, yet the goal stood. Visualeyes and Roma, put it behind them and focused on the third period.

Tap Room opened the third period with a goal, letting the "Eyes" know they were not quitting yet. Bob Simpson-Corigliano put the nail in Tap Room's coffin though, scoring his third goal of the playoffs on passes from Schottke and Bonito. Roma finished the game stopping 29 of 31 shots.

After the game, the mood was light in the room, enjoying the win, but also knowing that two more wins was the main goal. Schottke noted, "A full team effort got us here, everyone played a sound defensive game and Andy was unstoppable. I hope he brings that same heat against Cozumel."

"Just a great team effort, Roma and Valint Stepped up. It was great to hear the crowd chanting "We Want Coz" (Cozumel) in the final minutes." said Dan Brown.

Another key component to the win against Tap Room was the play by Matt English-Gunning. Normally standing out for his offensive play from the blue-line, English-Gunning's defense was the story, earning himself a +3 rating in his playoff debut. "Last game was a prime example of why conditioning is so important. Tap Room simply couldn't keep pace with us for three periods," said English-Gunning.

"Tap Room has a great team, they're always no fun to play against and they showed a lot of character with all of the injuries they had down the stretch. I think Justin Cefaly should definitely be considered for coach of the year after what he's down with the depleted roster." remarked Leberer.

Heading into the finals against Cozumel, Team Visualeyes know they have a tough task ahead of them. Cozumel lead the Regular Season in Goals For (217) , Goals Against (103), fitting the most amount of players on their bench during a bar league game with 16, and the team with the most bird cages (9).

Team V leading scorer in the playoffs, Garren Reisweber thoughts on the upcoming series. "I think we just need to back-check agaisnt Cozumel."

Keys to the series for Visualeyes will be getting plenty of traffic in front of Coz's goalie Dave Reed, back-checking hard like Reisweber said, and taking advantage of power plays.

NEWS AND NOTES:
-Team V and Cozumel split 2-2 during their 4  regular season games.

-The Schedule for the EMHL Finals is as follows:


                        GAME 1: Sunday, April 10th @ 7:50pm
                        GAME 2: Tuesday, April 12th @ 7:50pm
                        GAME 3: Friday, April 15th @ 8:50 (if needed)

-Tickets for the finals are selling out fast, so make sure to get to Buff State's Box Office early!