Following the lead of its gifted and resilient senior Captain, Miles McQuinn, Saint Ignatius’ varsity hockey team, coming off an all-time state-best 39-1 record last winter, will ride its mental and physical toughness, and plenty of potential into the 2012-13 season. It’s a season that several of the area’s ice hockey gurus have labeled as one in which the Wildcats will be “the hunter, instead of the hunted.”

Seniors Joey Malone and Alex McNulty will be the Assistant Captains for the Ice Cats and new assistant coach Nick Biondo is drawing rave reviews.

“This is the hardest working Saint Ignatius hockey team I have ever been around in my three years with the program, by far!” – Miles McQuinn

By Eddie Dwyer, Copyright November 2012

Ohio City – It was nearly 10 months ago that Saint Ignatius’ brilliant forward Miles McQuinn suffered an Achilles’ tendon tear, a serious setback that has forced other hockey players from the high school, college and professional levels to hang up their skates and sticks.

However, as he was sitting in the coaches’ room adjacent to Saint Ignatius’ Athletics Department on Tuesday afternoon, McQuinn, the Wildcats’ unquestioned leader, looked this reporter right in the eye and said: “My health is perfect. I’m all set to go.”

Amazing? To hockey fans, it’s a recovery that can be described as just that. But then when you talk with McQuinn, you walk away with your own renewed energy.

“What was a nine to 12 month recovery, by some act of God, got turned into five months,” said McQuinn, who was back on the ice working out on a full-time basis in June.

“Part of it was the determination every day, getting the stretching done and doing everything my therapist told me to do,” said the young man who produced 48 goals in his sophomore season and 30 more as a junior before the injury occurred. “Other than that, it was just youth and being athletic.”

As the Captain for what is one of the premier high school programs in the state, McQuinn is helping show the way on the ice while the Wildcats adjust to being without their outstanding head coach Pat O’Rourke ’90, who is recovering from surgery and will not be with the team for the first half of the season.

The Plain Dealer’s Coach of the Year last winter, Coach O’Rourke guided the Wildcats to the most single-season wins (39) in the history of Ohio High School Hockey. Those 39 victories included the Baron Cup 1 championship and the championship of the highly competitive Red North Division of the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League. Through eight seasons, Pat has compiled a 202-84-6 record, including a 100-15-3 mark the past three seasons. He led his alma mater to the program’s second state title in March 2010.

As is his nature, Coach O’Rourke wants the focus to be placed on a team that has an endless work ethic and is “going to be fun to watch.”

Coach O’Rourke is blessed with a solid staff that includes Nick Biondo, Joe Geither, Bryan Schoenholz, Rob Gramc and Goalie Coach Paul Chase ’96.

If the name Nick Biondo doesn’t sound familiar it is because Nick is new to the staff. However, he has already left a lasting impression on Coach O’Rourke and the players.

“We’re blessed that Nick sort of fell into our laps,” said Coach O’Rourke, who is in constant contact with Coach Biondo. “He has the respect that comes from playing on the college and professional levels, and the kids respond to that. Nick graduated from Parma Senior High School, but he might as well have been from a Jesuit school. He really has a handle on what we are all about.”

Coach Biondo played varsity hockey for The Ohio State University as a four-year defenseman and forward. He garnered the Buckeyes’ Most Valuable Freshman award, was a two-time All-Academic Big Ten selection and an Ohio State Scholar Athlete for three years.

“It’s been tough, we’ve never had Coach O’Rourke not be here,” said McQuinn. “It’s something we’ve had to adjust to, but fortunately we have great coaching. We have a brand new coach in Nick Biondo and I’m learning from him as well as the rest of the team. He has stepped up in Coach O’Rourke’s absence and has done a great job so far.

“We’re very lucky to have him,” McQuinn continued in reference to Coach Biondo. “He’s brought a new system with him to Saint Ignatius hockey.”

Although Coach O’Rourke will miss the early part of the season, he and his Wildcats realize that state championships are not secured in November.

“It’s the team that develops and then gets hot in February that moves on,” said Coach O’Rourke.

The Wildcats know that all too well, as after winning the state title in 2010, Saint Ignatius came back with talent-laden teams that were upset by Padua and St. Edward, respectively, in the postseason tournament.

Developing scorers who can take some of the load off McQuinn and finding that man in the mask will be two of the major keys this winter.

Coach O’Rourke said good-bye to the most prolific scorers in the program’s history in four-year varsity player Paddy Spellacy and three-year mainstay Liam Geither, and also graduated goalie Matt Kovesdy, who joined Spellacy and Geither on The Plain Dealer’s All-Star Team last season.

Spellacy, The Plain Dealer’s Player of the Year, totaled 43 goals and 46 assists last winter and finished his high school career with a school-record 135 goals and 121 assists. Geither racked up single-season school records of 56 goals and 52 assists, and totaled career marks of 94 goals and 124 assists. Kovesdy had 11 shutouts and allowed an average of 1.39 goals a game in 2011-12.

In Mike Abood, the Wildcats also graduated one of the most underrated players in the state at both ends of the ice.

While opponents might look at Saint Ignatius as not being the offensive force it was the past three seasons, McQuinn pointed out that the Wildcats scored five goals in each of their preseason victories over Rocky River and Walsh Jesuit. The Captain emphasized that this year’s team will be one that scores from close range, with less of an emphasis on the long-range slaps or power shots.

Joining McQuinn as the glue that will bind a young team are senior defenders and Assistant Captains Joey Malone and Alex McNulty and junior defender Harry Smith. Joey, Alex and Harry are big-game tested players.

Coach O’Rourke couldn’t say enough about the unselfish and team-first approach of Smith, who willingly moved from forward to defender this season and has accepted the role with open arms and authoritative play.

The Wildcats’ faithful are hoping youth will be served this winter, so it’s not too early to throw out the names of some of the young energizers – junior forwards Danny Brogan and Beck Schultz and junior defender Kevin Spellacy (Paddy’s brother), who have had a taste of prime time, the sophomore line of Ethan Whitney, Matty Geither (Liam’s brother) and Jack Wiegandt, and a freshman who plays with endless passion, Jared Stepka. And there will be others before the snow melts.

As for the new goalie, it appears to be a three-player competition between seniors Mike Mulach, Sean Williams and Bernie Cook.

“For the first time in my three years, we don’t have the target on our backs,” said McQuinn. “But that’s good because both times we had the target (the past two seasons) we’ve lost. So it’s a new position and I’m just looking forward to a great season. I am 100 percent positive that we are going to surprise a lot of people.”

Coach O’Rourke sees Shaker Heights, behind its wealth of experience, as probably the team to beat in the area. He also rates Brooklyn District state qualifier St. Edward, University School, Gilmour Academy, Lake Catholic and a vastly improved Walsh Jesuit program as being among the best of the best.

The Wildcats open their season on Thanksgiving Weekend at the Miami of Ohio Tournament and the home opener is Nov. 30 against Walsh Jesuit at the John M. Coyne Recreation in Brooklyn, a.k.a “The Big Barn on Memphis.”

Other highlights on the schedule include the Padua Christmas Tournament on Dec. 21-23 at IceLand USA, which features games against the top teams from the Toledo area – highly regarded St. John’s Jesuit, St. Francis and Olentangy Liberty – and the Georgetown Prep Purple Puck Jesuit Tournament in Washington, D.C., which will be played on Dec. 28-30 at the Fort Dupont Ice Arena.

For a complete schedule and a 2012-13 players roster, go to www.ignatius.edu, click on Athletics and click on Hockey under the heading of Athletic Teams.