North Royalton Bears

The North Royalton Bears played two NCHSHL league games this past weekend- both on the road. The Bears travelled first to Mentor to face off against the Riverside Beavers on December, 14th and then the following day headed to Wooster to battle the Wooster Oilers. In game 1, Riverside snapped North Royalton’s 8 game win streak dropping the Bears by the score of 4-2. The Bears looked sluggish in the opening minutes of the game but managed to get on the board first when AJ Bogdan knocked home Preston Vinyard’s rebound midway through the period. North Royalton held the lead going into the 2nd but struggled in the defensive zone giving up three Riverside goals in the middle period. Trailing 3-1 entering the final period, the Bears seemed to find their step as Owen Lally took a pass from Michael Schlegel and buried a nice snap shot from just over the blue line. The Bears pressed and despite out shooting the Beavers 11-6 in the 3rd couldn't notch the equalizer. Riverside sealed the game with an empty net score with just 23 seconds remaining giving them the 4-2 victory. In game 2, the Bears returned to form and downed the Wooster Oilers by the score of 5-1. Peyton Matthews started the scoring towards the end of the 1st period, burying a loose puck that was left in the crease from an AJ Bogdan shot. The Bears wasted little time, scoring just seconds into the 2nd period, when Michael Dzoba took a breakout pass from Aaron Schmitt and went the distance scoring a brilliant back hand goal. North Royalton entered the final period nursing a one goal lead after a late 2nd period Wooster goal but seemed to find their offensive touch as the Bears added three 3rd period goals. Timmy Orlosky started the 3rd period scoring assisted by Angelo Nero and Preston Vinyard, AJ Bogdan struck next with assists being awarded to Steven Vinyard and Aaron Schmitt, Schmitt then capped off the scoring with an assist being awarded to Orlosky. After splitting the weekend games, the Bears record now stands at 13-5 overall and 4-1 in the North Coast High School Hockey League. The Bears face off next, in league play, against the Medina Bees at 630pm on December 22nd at Iceland USA.

The North Royalton Bears skated past the Vikings 12-3 in NCHSHL play on Sunday, December 08. The Bears were led by AJ Bogdan who scored 5 times and added an assist in a breakout performance- Bogdan now has 12 goals in the 11 games he’s played this season. The Bears other goals were scored by six different players- Aaron Schmitt, Owen Lally, Eric Golla, Timmy Orlosky and Dylan Kovach each had a single score while Michael Dzoba found the back of the net twice. The Bears dominated play out shooting the Vikings 55-10 and controlling special teams play going 3-3 on the power play and picking up a shorthanded tally as well. The Bears improve to 3-0 in league play and 12-4 overall with the victory.

The North Royalton Bears improved to 11-4 overall and 2-0 in NCHSHL play defeating the Great Lakes Freeze 9-0 on December 7th at Kent State University. The Bears dominated play depositing 5 goals in the opening frame, 1 in the middle and another 3 in the final period. Aaron Schmitt (4G, 1A) , Branden Walsh (1G, 4A) and Michael Dzoba (1G, 4A) led all scorers with 5 points apiece. Angelo Nero (2G), AJ Bogdan (1G/1A) and Peyton Matthews (2A) were the other Bears adding to the offense with multiple point efforts- Nero’s goal just 45 seconds into the 1st period proved to be the eventual game winner. Also hitting the score sheet with helpers were Timmy Orlosky, Cameron Megazzini, Christian Fernandez, Steven Vinyard, Jeremy Gripp and freshman, Logan Kieklak. Marc Silver provided solid play in net stopping all 7 shots faced for the shutout.

The North Royalton Bears edged out the Jackson Polar Bears 3-1 in non league play tonight, December 6th, at the Quicken Loans Arena. North Royalton got on the board first scoring a shorthanded goal when Owen Lally fired a shot past the Jackson keeper; assisting on the goal was AJ Bogdan. The Bears added their second goal of the opening period, with less than three minutes remaining, as Branden Walsh batted home a Michael Dzoba rebound. Jackson scored the lone goal of the middle period cutting North Royalton’s lead to 2-1 as the two teams entered the final period. North Royalton scored their 3rd and the game’s final goal, a power play goal, with just two minutes left in the contest when Aaron Schmitt tapped in a Michael Dzoba rebound; also picking up an assist on the goal was Branden Walsh. Tyler Roesch (16/17) and Marc Silver (13/13) combined for a solid effort between the pipes for the Bears.

The North Royalton Bears are the 2013 Jr. Jacks Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl Tournament Champions. The Bears defeated the Riverside Beavers by the score of 5-3 earlier today, December 1st, in Cleveland Heights, OH to earn the title. The Bears jumped out early scoring just 16 seconds into the opening period when Cameron Megazzini buried a beautiful feed from Timmy Orlosky; Angelo Nero also picked up an assist on the goal. Riverside tied the game at a goal apiece a few minutes later however the game didn’t remain tied long as North Royalton responded scoring two goals in a 31 second span to take a two goal lead, a lead they would not relinquish. Branden Walsh netted the Bears 2nd goal, on the power play, with assists being awarded to Aaron Schmitt and Jeremy Gripp followed by Timmy Orlosky blasting a slap shot past the Riverside keeper the Bears 3rd goal. The Bears held a 3-2 lead midway through the middle frame when Michael Dzoba’s hard work earned him a rebound goal with assists given to Schmitt and Walsh. Unfortunately for the Bears, they ended the 2nd just like they did the 1st giving up a goal to Riverside in the final minutes of the period. The Bears entered the final period up 4-3 and didn’t waste time adding their 5th and final goal scoring just 90 seconds into the period. The goal was scored by Angelo Nero who set up in the slot and finished a brilliant feed from Orlosky; Megazzini also picked up an assist on the goal.