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Ice Cats Roll Past the Green Wave; Set for Cleveland Cup Final

By Jack O'Rourke, 02/11/17, 12:15PM EST

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It is hard to win twice in a row, let alone four times in a row. The Wildcats are on a quest to lift state championship No. 5 this year, but first, the Ice Cats have a chance to win their fourth consecutive Cleveland Cup tonight.

Before the Wildcats could clinch a chance at Great Lakes Hockey League title No. 4, they needed to beat Holy Name.

The Ice Cats did just that in impressive fashion, winning 8-1. 

Cullen Frebes scored a beautiful one-timer goal past Anna Citcovich to give the ‘Cats a 1-0 lead early on via the power play. Junior star Bain Kurtz added a goal soonthereafter, and that lead would not be relinquished.

The Wildcats did not score again in the beginning period and Sean Bauchens placed Holy Name on the board, but the Ice Cats kept their cool and let the floodgates open. Seniors Connor Koehnke and Seth Whitney showed their leadership by adding three beautiful goals, including a highlight Koehnke goal that could have made made its way onto SportsCenter's Top 10 plays of the night list.

Benji Rechin added a breakaway goal off of a beautiful move that fans have seen him light the lamp on time and time again. Connor McGowan found twine on a rebound goal, while Chris Revnew iced the cake with a beautiful hard shot past Ross Conforto, who let in two goals upon his third period entry.

 PREVIEW FOR TODAY’S FINAL:

The Wildcats have a chance for Cleveland Cup number four tonight. The first three came off of wins against University School, but tonight the Wildcats have to face arch-rival St. Edward.

The only other time the teams met this season, the Wildcats pulled out a 3-2 victory in overtime. Grayson Gerard scored a powerplay goal off of a slapshot while Connor Koehnke added the latter two goals. The Wildcats were without senior defensemen Matt Wiegandt, who played the night before in a hardfought state championship football game, and other players such as Piginatiello, Coughlin, Langermeier, Boehm, Lile, and Baumann. The Wildcats will play with a full roster tonight against the Eagles of St. Edward.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

St. Edward: Andrew Stewart, Curtis Szelesta, Danny McGuire, Stephen O’Sullivan, and Charlie Kirkholder.

Puck drops at 7:00 p.m. from OBM Arena in Strongsville. Tickets are $7 for adults (19-60) and $5 for Senior Citizens and students of all ages.

I’d suggest showing up around 6:30 to guarentee a ticket. If you are unable to attend, make sure to listen to the game on SIBN, as Joe Molnar ‘18, Connor Sims ‘18, and Jack O’Rourke ’20 provide the call. The link is: www.ignatiuswildcats.com/SIBN-live