Burrell advances to USA Hockey national championship game

By: Doug Gulasy
Sunday, March 31, 2019 | 8:23 PM

Burrell stands one win from a national high school hockey championship.

Dylan Zelonka scored five goals — all in the second period — as Burrell beat the Newark (N.J.) Generals, 8-4, Sunday evening in the semifinals of the USA Hockey High School Division II National Championship in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Bucs, who have won all five of their games in the tournament, turned a scoreless game into a rout by outscoring Newark, 6-1, in the second period. Zelonka opened the scoring at the 2:33 mark off an assist from Jonas Sopko, and the pair teamed up again just under four minutes later. Zelonka added three more goals in the period, capping the scoring with a shorthanded marker with just over a minute remaining before intermission.

Tyler Stewart added a pair of goals for Burrell, bringing his tournament total to 13 in five games. Nathan Smith had the final goal. Sopko dished out four assists, Logan Schoepf had three helpers and goaltender Drew Burkett made 28 saves.

Burrell will play Boulder/Monarch (Colo.) in the national championship game at 10:30 a.m. Monday. The Bucs beat Boulder, 6-4, Thursday on the opening day of pool play.

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review Staff Writer. You can contact Doug at 412-388-5830, dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

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