SEHS Hockey: Late Surge by the Eagles is not enough for Holy Name
By: Diego Palko
February 8th, 2019
Late Friday night, the St. Edward Hockey Team was readying up to play the Holy Name Green Wave at 8 PM. However, they would have to wait for an overtime thriller between University School and Gilmour Academy to wrap up, in which US scored in OT to advance to the GLHL Cleveland Cup Championship Game.
The GLHL Cleveland Cup consisted of the 8 teams in the league, including St. Edward, Holy Name, Gilmour, University School, Walsh Jesuit, Shaker Heights, Padua, and Lake Catholic. Seeding was based on league play, and St. Edward attained the number three seed. After winning the quarterfinal against Lake Catholic due to forfeit, St. Edward battled Holy Name in a classic, tough semifinal matchup.
By the end of the second period, the score was 4-1, with the Eagles’ lone goal coming from leading scorer Tanyon Bajzer five seconds into a power play. During the first 5 minutes of the third period, the Eagles had a slow start and produced few shots. However, sophomore Sean Kolenich started the potential comeback with a goal at 8:28. About three minutes later, senior Ryan Willse scored a goal assisted by Noah Schultz and Matt Smith. Willse’s goal made the score 4-3 in favor of Holy Name, but the Eagles were playing with a replenished amount of passion, channeling the energy from Eagle supporters present at OBM Ice Arena. With 5 minutes left to play in the game, St. Edward needed 1 more goal to potentially force overtime. St. Edward goalie Nate Cappallazzo was pulled with around 1:33 to play in order to give the Eagles an extra man on offense. Holy Name scored one goal on an empty net, and another one on a breakaway to make the score 6-3.
Holy Name will go on to play University School in the GLHL Championship Game on Saturday the 9th. On the contrary, St. Edward will play the winner of Avon Lake vs. Brooklyn in the OHSAA Hockey State Playoffs on Sunday the 17th. Both St. Edward and Holy Name are in the Brooklyn Region and have a high chance of playing each other for the third time this season. If both teams win their first two playoff games, they will meet again at Brooklyn Ice Arena on February 23rd at 5 P.M. The St. Edward Hockey team knows they can do something special this year as they begin their run for the program’s 12th State Championship.