SPELLACY AND HIS LIFE-LONG BUDDY GEITHER EACH PROVIDE TWO GOALS, TAYLOR WOLF LIGHTS THE LAMP AND THE WILDCATS CONTINUE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF POWER PLAY OPPORTUNITIES.
*A LOOK AT SAINT IGNATIUS' BOWLING TEAM (SEE AFTER THE HOCKEY GAME STORY).
BY EDDIE DWYER, COPYRIGHT DECEMBER 2011
In Monday evening’s opening match up of the annual Saint Ignatius Christmas Tournament, the undefeated Wildcats found themselves trailing Gilmour Academy by a goal after the first period. The game was tied entering the third period.
Was it time for Coach Pat O’Rourke ’90 and his team to be concerned?
No, not really.
Not when you are as talented, deep, unselfish and hockey savvy as the 2011-12 Wildcats are.
Saint Ignatius, dominating the final 15 minutes, rode two big-time third-period goals by standout senior center Paddy Spellacy and defeated the Lancers, 5-3, at the John M. Coyne Recreation Center in Brooklyn.
After skating off the ice with their third victory over Gilmour this season, the Wildcats stand 18-0 heading into Tuesday’s 8 A.M. face off with the Padua Bruins. It’s breakfast at “The Big Barn on Memphis.”
“We knew the goals were going to come,” said Saint Ignatius’ gifted senior wing Liam Geither, who has been carrying a wicked stick throughout the Christmas break. “We were acting like we usually do, goofing around a little bit, in the locker room (after the first period).
Geither, who scored 15 goals in the five games at last week’s Fr. Tony McNamara Invitational in Ontario, Canada, gave Saint Ignatius a 1-0 lead by scoring off assists from junior center/forward Miles McQuinn and senior forward Taylor Wolf. Geither’s 32nd goal of the season came with just 1 minute and 7 seconds gone in the opening period.
Gilmour (10-7), which earlier this season presented its outstanding head coach John Malloy with his 500th career victory, responded with goals by Nick Aleva and Mason Schmitt that were less than a minute apart and the Lancers led, 2-1, after the first 15 minutes.
After killing a Gilmour power play, the Wildcats tied the score on Geither’s 33rd lamp lighter. It came off McQuinn’s picture-perfect assist at the 10:02 mark of the second period. Coach O’Rourke’s team took a 3-2 lead on a power play goal by Wolf at 5:42 of the second period. Assisting Wolf were Geither and McQuinn.
“I have to give all the credit for my goals to Miles (McQuinn),” Geither said. “He’s been doing all of the work and I just have to bear down and finish. The first one, Miles skated in and we did the stuff we work on in practice. He fed it perfectly to my stick. The second one chipped through the D’s (Gilmour’s defense) sticks and Miles picked it off, timed it perfectly and fed it to me.”
And it didn’t hurt that Geither was in perfect position to take those assists.
Gilmour wasn’t about to call it night, as the Lancers came back to tie the score on a goal by Alex Haluska off Ryan Hall’s second assist of the night. It came with 1:53 remaining in the second period.
“Just keep the pressure on,” said Spellacy, who started playing hockey with Geither when they were 3 years old. “We really have four lines that can go at any time. Third or second line, you can call them whatever you want. But they kept control of the game. They kept the puck deep, battled and played consistent the whole game.
“That’s big for us,” Spellacy continued. “If we want to succeed, those third or fourth lines have to contribute.”
And no one kept the pressure on or stepped up bigger than Spellacy, as the program’s career leader in goals, points and assists showed the way with two powerful goals down the stretch.
First it was Spellacy taking an assist from senior defender Will Smith and delivering a thunderous slap shot from the top right corner that gave the Wildcats a 4-3 lead with 8:59 to go in the third period.
One minute and 14 seconds later, Spellacy stepped up again, this time off a power play, and ripped another authoritative shot into the net. Senior wing Mike Abood provided the assist.
After killing off two more power-play opportunities for the Lancers, the Wildcats sealed the deal on three exceptional saves by senior goalie Matt Kovesdy.
“I thought they did a good job today pressuring the puck,” Coach O’Rourke said of his team. “The third period was the key to the game, obviously. Paddy has a cannon for a shot. We’ve asked him at times to take a little off, just for the accuracy. Because when he gets that accuracy, nobody can stop him.
“Sacrifice a little bit of that power for accuracy and it is Katie bar the door.”
A LOOK AT THE 2011-12 “ALLEY CATS,” AS PRESENTED BY COACH JOHN KASTANIS.
We had joined the North Shore Conference (last season), which rates as one of the top conferences in the state. Our Wildcats ended up in 7th place with Chris Thom ‘11 averaging 202, which was top for our Wildcats. A junior last season, Ray Schaefer Jr. had a 193 average.
Our major success for 2010-2011 was that we took first place in the OHSAA sectional tournament, advancing to the districts for the first time. Although our Wildcats did not advanced to state as a team, Chris Thom represented Saint Ignatius as an individual. Thom bowled a 179, 202 and a 216 for a series of 597, finishing 23rd in the state finals.
This year our returning team includes seniors Ray Schaefer Jr., Chris Dokler, Matt Eaton and Kevin Hulsmann, and junior Andy Maykut.
We have entered the Interscholastic Greater Cleveland League this season, which has been in existence since 1941.
We started out very slow this season, but have won our last three matches, leaving us with a 3-2 record at this time.
Ray Schaefer Jr. has been on a streak, shooting a 710, 661 and 704 series and holding the highest average in the league with a 224. Chris Dokler’s 213 holds third place in the high average category and Andy Maykut with a 195 average holds 13th place overall. The Wildcats hold third place for a high team game of 1,038 and third place for high team series with a 2,939.
We were very good last year with only a couple of strong individuals. This year, we feel, and I feel, that all five starters are on all cylinders and bowling very well, which will make us a strong competitor for the race to the State Title.
Our last match of the season will be against St. Edward on Saturday, February 4 at Cloverleaf Lanes in Valley View at 9:00 A.M.