Junior wing Ethan Whitney scores off assists from the Spellacy brothers, Kevin and Aidan, while the kernels were still popping at the concession stand and the Wildcats' defense was more than equal to several power-play opportunities for the Lancers. Sophomore goalie Dylan McKeon records his third consecutive shutout as Saint Ignatius out shoots Gilmour, 33-10.

Brooklyn, Ohio - Never mind being a few minutes late.

If you happened to have been 18 seconds tardy for Tuesday night's Great Lakes Hockey League match up between Pat O'Rourke's Saint Ignatius Wildcats and Coach John Malloy's Lancers from Gilmour Academy you missed the only goal in what was a spirited battle between two of the GLHL's best.

So, being the gentlemen we are on the corner, we're going to have Wildcats gifted junior wing Ethan Whitney describe his effort to you in what was definitely a case for the defense at "The Big Barn on Memphis," aka the Brooklyn Ice Arena in the John M. Coyne Recreation Center.

"Is that what it was?" said the good-natured Whitney after this corner told him his lamplighter came with the game just 17 seconds old. "I knew it was quick. I just remember I was in front of the net and no one else was on me. I was all alone. Aidan Spellacy ('Cats sophomore center) got the puck behind the net and passed it right on my tape and I finished it. I don't even think the goalie saw it."

What the faithful from Saint Ignatius and Gilmour Academy saw after Whitney's difference maker was some sound and resourceful defensive play from programs whose coaches - Coach O'Rourke '90 and Coach Malloy - have combined for nearly 460 victories in 19 seasons as the head coaches at their respective schools. This is Coach O'Rourke's 10th season as the Wildcats' head coach.

"I can't thank them enough," said Whitney of the defensive effort by his teammates, especially when Gilmour was on the power play. "We got a five-minute penalty in there and we killed it all off. I was really impressed with that. They (the Lancers) have a great team and a great goalie (6-4, 218-pound senior Matthew Ray), and they have that one line that really produces a lot for them. But I think it was all about our depth, our goalie (Dylan McKeon) and our defense tonight."

Saint Ignatius, which improved to 4-0-2 on the young season, clung to the 1-0 lead after killing off two man advantages for Gilmour in the first period.

The first five minutes of the second period saw both goalies withstand flurries in the pipes. With 8 minutes and 8 seconds remaining in the period, the Wildcats were hit with the five-minute penalty that Whitney referred to.

Once again, Coach O'Rourke's defense stood tall and, after both teams were unable to take advantage of power-play opportunities in the final 2:46 of the second period, Whitney's goal remained the difference heading into the final 15 minutes.

"We're getting better, they've worked hard at it," said Coach O'Rourke of his team's effort in killing off penalties, something that also came to the fore in Sunday's 1-1 tie against highly touted Toledo St. John's Jesuit in the Walsh Jesuit Thanksgiving Invitational at Kent State University. In securing the 1-1 tie and the tournament championship, the Ice Cats killed off a 5-3 advantage for St. John's Jesuit in the final two minutes.

Coach O'Rourke emphasized that he will take the final shots-on-goal totals (33-10 in favor of the 'Cats) any time, but was also quick to point to the efforts of Lancers net-minder Ray and his 32 saves.

"He had to make some tough saves," Coach O'Rourke said. "We were peppering the guy."

Ray, who entered the game as the GLHL's leader in saves with 53, came up with a nice glove save in the first two minutes of the third period and a few minutes later he survived a long-distance blast off the stick of Saint Ignatius senior defenseman Nick Gajkowski.

After the Ice Cats killed off yet another power-play opportunity for Gilmour, Ray and McKeon exchanged crowd-pleasing saves and, as Coach O'Rourke said: "We're happy to get the three points and high tail it out of here."

Three points are what teams in the GLHL are awarded for a victory. The Lancers, who were coming off a 4-0 triumph over Findlay at the Cold Turkey Shootout in Sylvania, are now 3-4 on the season.

"The whole defense has really stepped up," said McKeon, who has been combining with fellow sophomore Wes Deacon as Coach O'Rourke's goalies. 'We're holding our opponents to under 20 shots a game. When you do that, you're going to win 95 percent of the time. Our defense is not allowing the high-quality inside shots."

Up next for the Ice Cats are two more GLHL home games this weekend at the Brooklyn Ice Arena - a 7 PM match up with Walsh Jesuit on Saturday and a 4:15 face off with the Padua Bruins on Sunday.

****This corner would like to compliment the Saint Ignatius Student Broadcasting trio of Pat McGuire '14, Carter Spearry '16 and Conner Rechin '15 on the fine job they did in bringing you the action live over the SIBN on Tuesday night and also give out a tip of my many caps to Harrington Sports Media for the super Great Lakes League media program that was available at last night's game.