A former Wildcat hockey theme of the year has always stuck with me since it was used. “Do what you do best”.

Whether that applies on the ice as trying to be the best penalty killer, or it be shooting hoops with your friends, aspire to be the best. Head Hockey Coach Pat O’Rourke ‘90 implemented this theme this year again and it came true with the team play of the Ice Cats.

The Wildcats began the round robin play of the Padua Christmas Tournament against the highly touted Columbus St. Charles Cardinals. The Wildcats opened the scoring with a rebound goal by junior Charlie Klenkar. St. Charles answered back off of a defensive miscue and a tipped pass, and the Cardinals made the only flaw on Benny Savarino’s score sheet.

Halfway through the second period, as Savarino continued to be “Mr. Reliable” as SIBN broadcaster Max Marazzi has coined him, Michael McCaffrey fed a 2v1 pass to Bain Kurtz. Kurtz finished to give the Wildcats their last goal of the night, but it was enough to win. Kurtz’s goal was reminiscent of his state semifinal game winner last year. The Wildcats’ excellent penalty kill, led by senior Andrew Denk, junior and freshman Aedan and Aidan Conway, put up a perfect 3/3 on penalties kills.

Bright and early Saturday morning, the Wildcats faced off against Columbus Olentangy Liberty. The Liberty Patriots and the Wildcats, led by goaltender Nick Bernstein, were at what seemed to be a long stalemate of 0-0 halfway through the second period.

That Wildcat penalty kill would hold for parts of a 5v3 penalty kill, until the first penalty kill ended and three Liberty penalties would eventually lead to a 5v4, 5v3, and 5v4 five minute penalty. If that confused you, don’t worry – you aren’t alone. Despite the craziness, Greg Langermeier and Michael McCaffrey both found twine for the Cats, as they led 2-0 after two periods.

The Patriots beat Bernstein on a shot from a weird angle to cut their deficit in half in the third. Joey Trobenter then tipped an Aidan Conway shot past the goaltender to take a 3-1 lead. Trobenter, a sophomore forward, has lots of potential for this Saint Ignatius program and it is already beginning to shine through, highlighted by his great weekend.

Connor McGowan then finished a Michael Boehm pass for his first gino of the year. Trobenter wasn’t kept off the board lon,g as a beautiful power play tic-tac-toe was set up by Greg Langermeier and Alex Bilardo. Bernstein improved to 4-0-0 on the year and the Cats extended their winning streak to six.

The big one everyone was waiting for was Saturday night. During primetime, Ohio’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams duked it out for the bragging rights on the top spot. The No. 2 Cats took on familiar foe No. 1 Toledo St. Francis.

After ten scoreless minutes, sophomore phenom Alex Bilardo netted his third goal of the season, roofing one over the Knight defense and celebrating on the Knight side, setting a tone the Wildcats would continue all night.

Eric Lile, not to be outdone, made the goalie look silly on a beautiful shot, doubling the Wildcats’ lead. The Ice Cats took a 2-0 lead to the locker room, but never took their foot of the gas pedal. Joey Trobenter extended his great weekend by making a smart play and putting the puck on net and it miraculously beat the Knight goalie. Michael Boehm, the stalwart defenseman, skated the puck up himself and joined the Wildcat goal club by sniping. Despite one puck beating Benny Savarino, the junior played excellent all night long and his young career is shaping up to be one of the best goalies that Ohio has ever seen. Savarino is a reliable force in net with picturesque mechanics.

Bain Kurtz and Alex Bilardo added late third period goals to end it. The Wildcats shelled St. Francis on the way to the championship and set up a contest with Sylvania Northview.

Championship Sunday’s story was the goaltender we sometimes don’t give enough credit to. Savarino improved to 7-2-0 with a Sunday shutout. Savarino, who is backed up by Nick Bernstein, the 4-0-0 goaltender reliable for a win, stopped 22-of-22 shots and was provided much help by his offense.

The young Wildcat defense of Aedan Conway, Aidan Conway, Charlie Erbs and Clay Gazdak stayed perfect on the day, helping Benny. Connor McGowan buried a rebound, Mike McCaffrey sniped and Greg Langermier roofed a prepossessing shot past the Northview goaltender. To top it off, Langermeier raised his stick in the air and released it to his imaginary sheath. The Wildcats took home their second consecutive Padua Christmas Classic title.

UP NEXT- The Gonzaga Purple Puck Tournament, the Cats will travel to D.C over Christmas. The SIBN will cover every second of action. On December 28, the Cats will play Loyola Academy (the No. 1 team in Illinois) at 6 pm. At 7 am on the 29th, the Cats will play Regis Jesuit (CO) and then host Gonzaga at 1 pm. All round robin contests will be on the SIBN, as well as whatever contest on the 30th the team will play.