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High-Powered Offense Propels Wildcats to 6-0 win over Holy Name

By Jack O'Rourke '20, 03/05/19, 10:30AM EST

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For the fourth straight season, the Saint Ignatius hockey team will head to Nationwide Arena with a chance to win a state title. 

The Wildcats advanced to the State Semifinal with a 6-0 win over Holy Name. The Cats dominated throughout the contest in a game that was their most complete performance of the season.

The Ice Cats controlled the No. 2 seeded Green Wave from the get-go. The offensive attack was aggressive, produced many shots and rung a few posts in the opening minutes of the first period. 

Aidan Millett, Greg Langermeier, and Michael Boehm produced great opportunities early on in the contest. 

With under five minutes left in the first period, a Greg Langermeier slapshot forced a whistle and an offensive zone faceoff. 

Connor McGowan dug a loose puck from a battle on the boards and made a pass to a tangled Matt Sullivan. Michael Boehm retrieved the puck from Sullivan’s feet and cut towards the high slot. Boehm, as he has done so many times before, ripped a hard wrist shot that went bar down and into the net.

Sullivan and McGowan, who were joined by senior Eric Lile, went into a frenzy as they tackled Boehm into the corner following the opening goal. 

Minutes later, Boehm snapped a shot from the low circle, which forced a rebound to Alex Bilardo. Bilardo cycled in the corner, cut back towards the slot, and in fashion similar to Boehm, beat the goalie high. 

“I got the puck off the half wall and the defenseman skated up to the point and gave me a clear shot at the net,” said Bilardo. “I put it over the goalie’s shoulder.” 

After taking a two-goal lead to the locker room, the Wildcats came out firing in the second period. 

Charlie Klenkar won a faceoff to Joey Trobenter, who was at the right point, and Trobenter made a quick D to D pass to Aidan Conway. The sophomore defenseman released a hard shot to the low left side of the goalie and extended the Wildcat lead to three. 

“We stressed between periods and on the bench about how open the points were,” said Conway. “Klenkar won the faceoff back to JT, and he made a great pass to me. Alex and Klenkar did a great job screening, so all I had to do was put it on net, and it happened to go in.” 

Not long after his goal, Conway, while playing on the defensive side of the ice, retrieved a turnover and fired a pass up ice to Aidan Millett. The pass, which left Millett on an odd-man rush accompanied by Camden Kurtz, was perfectly fired to the offensive blue line. Millett drew the defender closer to him, before ripping a shot high glove side, fitting the puck perfectly in a small area. 

“To be honest, I was about to pass it,” said Millett. “I am pretty lucky I scored because I probably should have made the backdoor pass to Cam.” 

The Wildcats’ fifth goal capped off a great second period. Senior forward Charlie Klenkar capitalized on a defensive zone turnover by the Green Wave and skated hard through the neutral zone. Klenkar made a pass to Joey Trobenter, who thundered into the zone. Trobenter’s shot from between the circle and the point was a bullet that would have beaten an NHL goalie. Trobenter’s tally meant a 5-0 lead for the Blue and Gold. 

Senior defenseman Aedan Conway put the finishing touches on the Wildcat win when he scored his fourth goal of the season in the third period. Conway’s low shot from the point confirmed the Cats’ travel plans for Columbus.

“Scoring in the District Final definitely means something to me,” said Conway. “It means a lot because you never know how many more times you will score or how many more days left we have as a family.”

Benny Savarino posted yet another shutout and continued his hot play this past Saturday night. Savarino, who holds 68 career wins, tied Dylan McKeon for the career win record, and has an opportunity to pass the two-time state champion McKeon with a win on Friday.

The Wildcats advance to play Sylvania Northview on Friday at 1 p.m. at Nationwide Arena. Dublin Jerome (Columbus) and University School (Kent) will play at 10 a.m. on Friday for the right to play the winner of the Wildcat versus Wildcat matchup. 

A preview of this Friday’s game will come later this week.