THE ICE 'CATS NOW STAND 34-0 HEADING INTO SATURDAY EVENING'S SEMIFINAL GAME VERSUS LAKE CATHOLIC. THE COUGARS DEFEATED ST. EDWARD, 2-1, IN DOUBLE OVERTIME IN WEDNESDAY NIGHT'S OTHER FIRST-ROUND MATCHUP.
SAINT IGNATIUS IS SEEDED NO. 1 FOR THE OHSAA BROOKLYN DISTRICT.
BY EDDIE DWYER
Saint Ignatius improved its remarkable record to 34-0 and advanced to the semifinal round of the tradition-rich Baron Cup by defeating Hudson, 6-2, late Wednesday night on the ice in Brooklyn’s John M. Coyne Recreation Center.
With gifted senior forward Liam Geither adding to his single-season school record by tallying his 52nd and 53rd goals, and standout senior center Paddy Spellacy also lighting the lamp twice, the Wildcats would go on to outshoot the Explorers, 42-15.
Pretty strong night you say?
Don’t try to sell that to Saint Ignatius head coach Pat O’Rourke ‘90.
“I have to be honest, it was a lackluster effort,” said Coach O’Rourke, whose team will now move on to Saturday evening’s 5:30 Baron Cup I semifinal matchup with Lake Catholic on the Brooklyn ice. The Cougars, who have lost two Red North Division games to the Wildcats this season, 7-2 and 2-0, defeated Saint Ignatius in overtime during the semifinal round of last year’s Baron Cup.
On the strength of a goal by junior forward Troy MacMullan, Lake Catholic (19-12-2) edged St. Edward, 2-1, in two overtimes on Wednesday night and the ‘Cats’ victory over Hudson set up a rematch from 2011.
As Coach O’Rourke emphasized, Saint Ignatius will have to bring more passion on Saturday than it did Wednesday night if the Wildcats want to prevent Baron Cup history from repeating itself.
“We lost every race to the puck to a team that outhustled us,” Coach O’Rourke said. “We probably had more depth than they had, but other than that I just told them (the Wildcats) this team as comprised right now will not win states. No way.
“There were dumb penalties again. It was a horrible effort and, if you do one of those in the state tournament, we’re all crying in the locker room. And I don’t want to see that. They’re good boys and I love them. But we can tell them only so many times.”
Hudson (15-12-1), which earned the eighth and final seed for the Baron Cup, got some strong goaltending from Grayson Kotseos and stayed with the top-seeded Wildcats for nearly the first 12 minutes of the opening period.
With 3 minutes and 6 seconds remaining in the first 15 minutes, Geither ripped home No. 52 off an assist from senior defender Will Smith.
Saint Ignatius’ hockey-savvy senior forward/defender Mike Abood gave his team a 2-0 advantage when, with just 41.5 seconds left in the first period, he alertly reacted to a deflection to his right and scored his 27th lamp lighter of the season. Senior defender Zak Shockley and senior forward Taylor Wolf provided the helpers.
Spellacy, a four-year varsity mainstay, staked the ‘Cats’ to a 3-0 lead when he scored his 33rd goal of the winter with 2:31 gone in the second period. Senior forward Colton Riemenschneider and junior defender Alex McNulty were on the assists.
It was at that point, however, that Hudson fueled an emotional fire.
The Explorers, members of the Red South Division, closed to 3-1 on a power-play goal by Bo Lori with 2:45 to go in the second period. Lori was assisted by Luke Mussay and Jake Collins.
Another outstanding save by Kotseos (36 stoppers) kept it a two-goal game entering the third period.
Saint Ignatius, which has not won a Baron Cup since 1992, responded with a timely save by senior goalie Matt Kovesdy and Geither’s 53rd goal, which came off helpers from Spellacy and Smith.
The Explorers weren’t done charting the ice in “The Big Barn on Memphis,” as Coach Matt Bartley’s team made it 4-2 on another power-play effort, this time off the stick of Tyler Stockwell. Lori and Mussay were credited with the assists.
Saint Ignatius, which is now two victories away from surpassing the OHSAA mark for wins in a season – 35 by Gilmour Academy – earned a third meeting with Lake Catholic by scoring twice in the final 7:03.
Spellacy delivered his 34th net finder off an assist from Abood and senior forward Eamonn Walsh went unassisted with 1:43 left.
*In Wednesday night’s draw for the annual OHSAA district tournament, the Wildcats were seeded No. 1 and will open tournament play on Presidents’ Day, Monday, Feb. 20, against the Padua Bruins. The puck will drop in the John M. Coyne Recreation Center at 6 p.m.
Padua, which upset Saint Ignatius in last year’s district semifinals, jumped right into the Wildcats’ bracket spot. The Bruins are 0-4 against the ‘Cats this season and have been outscored, 30-3.
*Before Wednesday night’s encounter with the Explorers, Saint Ignatius was presented with a special plaque from the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League for winning another Red North Division championship. Accepting the plaque were Geither, Abood, Smith and Riemenschneider.