Busy week of hockey ends with win over O'Connell, 9-7

Sophomore Ryan Scott is off to a fast start for the Cardinals, scoring against St Albans here earlier in the campaign.

After a tough loss to division rival and perennial powerhouse Woodbridge to start the week, the Bishop Ireton varsity ice hockey team looked to close out the 2012 portion of their schedule on an upswing. With back-to-back games last Thursday and Friday, they were given the chance to do just that and they didn’t disappoint. A 5-5 tie with Osbourn Park and a thrilling come from behind 9-7 victory over Bishop O’Connell raised their season mark to 2-4-1 and kept their playoff hopes alive heading into the break.

The Osbourn Park Yellow Jackets welcomed the Cardinals to Prince William Ice Center last Thursday for a 4:00 pm start. The Ireton squad arrived ready to play, quickly jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the 1^st on goals by Phillip Thomas, Nick Tangora and Ryan Scott, the leading scorer thus far for the Cardinals. After a score late in the period by the Jackets, Scott netted his 2^nd of the game and 5^th of the season to send Ireton into the break leading 4-1.

Duke Roach extended the lead to 5-1 early in the 2^nd and the Ireton squad looked to be on their way to their 2^nd victory of the season. The OP squad, however, had other ideas. Despite taking a 5-2 advantage into the 3^rd period, the Cardinals were unable to hang on, surrendering 3 goals in the last 8 minutes of the game. Some key saves late by goalie Michaela Mulokey allowed the Cards to salvage a tie. The scorers for the game were led by Ryan Scott with 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist), Nick Tangora and Duke Roach with 2 points (1 G, 1 A), and 1 point each for Phillip Thomas with a goal, while Stephen Gerke, Johnathan Chin, Luke Burton and Patrick Coyne each contributed an assist.

The Cardinal squad was on the road again on Friday, taking on archrival Bishop O’Connell at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington. The 4:00 pm tilt did not start well for the Bishop Ireton team, as the Knights jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the 1^st. Despite some early chances, the Cardinals were unable to dent the O’Connell net until Ryan Scott finally broke through late in the period to cut the O’Connell lead to 2-1. Will Chastain tied the contest minutes later on a feed from Nick Tangora, and the period ended with the teams tied at 2-2.

The 2^nd period saw the Cardinals take the lead twice, only to have the Knights tie the game back up each time with goals of their own on the next shift. Joe Gorman notched his 1^st of the season, while Will Chastain picked up his 2^nd of the game and 3^rd of the season in the period. The teams headed into the 3^rd tied 4-4, and setting up a thrilling last period of hockey in Arlington.

The Ireton offense came out strong, determined to take it to the O’Connell team and head into the holiday break with a win. Sustained early offensive pressure paid off as Captain Nick Tangora scored a pair of goals just 90 seconds apart staking the Cardinals to a 6-4 lead 3 minutes into the final frame. After the Knights cut the lead to 6-5, Phillip Thomas took a feed from Ryan Scott and netted his 5^th goal of the season, restoring the 2 goal Cardinals advantage. The Ireton offense was not done yet however as Stephen Gerke scored two more goals, his 4^th and 5^th of the season, just 90 seconds apart, extending the lead to 9-5 with 3 minutes left and all but closing out the game. The Knights would not go down without a fight and managed to close to within 2 goals with under a minute to play but they would get no closer. The 9-7 win was the Cardinals 2^nd of the season.

The scoring barrage in this game was led by Ryan Scott with 5 points (1 G, 4 A), Nick Tangora and Will Chastain with 4 points (2 G, 2 A), Stephen Gerke with 3 points (2 G, 1 A), Phillip Thomas and Joe Gorman with 2 points ( 1 G, 1 A), and Duke Roach, Patrick Coyne and Sam Ratner with 1 point each (1 A).