by Robert Klemko
The third time was the charm for Mount St. Joseph’s High ice hockey team Monday evening. The Gaels defeated Calvert Hall, 5-3, at the Ice Gardens in Laurel to gain sole possession of the first in the MIAA A Conference.
Senior forward Andrew McCrumb scored three goals for Mount St. Joseph (8-2-4 overall, 4-0-3 league), and Jake Natoli and Andrew Fitzhugh each tallied one. Junior Heath McLean scored two goals to lead Calvert Hall (9-5-3, 4-1-2) and Andrew Klick had a goal.
The first two meetings resulted in a tie, 2-2 on Dec. 13, and 3-3 a couple of weeks ago. The teams were deadlocked late in the second period Monday until Fitzhugh decided to take matters into his own hands.
With first place in the MIAA A and bragging rights in a burgeoning rivalry at stake, the diminutive junior winger decided to go deep into his bag of tricks after corralling the puck beyond Calvert Hall’s blue line. With a man between him and the goalie, Fitzhugh brought the puck as far as he could to his right and in one fluid motion, dragged his back toe and whipped the puck to his left, stunning the Calvert Hall defender. Fitzhugh then flipped the puck up and over the shoulder of goalie Stefen Blount, starting a three-goal uprising.
“That was dirty,†said McCrumb. “That really sparked us and got the fire under us. It was just a huge goal.â€
“He’s done that two or three times this year, and he has really come around,†Mount St. Joseph coach Erv Terwilliger said. “He’s got that move and he’s confident in it.â€
The McCrumb-led senior line including forwards Stephen Courtney and Jake Natoli followed with goals in the third period, making it 4-1.
“They’ve been doing it all year, they’ve just been popping it in there,†Terwilliger said. “They’re very strong physical players and sometimes they try and do too much, but they can turn the game in a minute or two.â€
The Gaels can win the regular season crown with a victory over Loyola Blakefield in their final league game Monday at the Ice Gardens. Calvert Hall would gain the title outright with a win over Loyola Feb. 8 and a Gael loss. The Cardinals would tie with a win combined with a Mount St. Joseph tie.
Calvert Hall had an opportunity to secure first outright Monday, but was out shot, 34-21, with just eight of their attempts coming in the first two periods. Blount, the Cardinals’ senior goalie, had 29 saves.
“The loss was disappointing, but we felt like our lack of effort was even more disappointing,†said Calvert Hall coach Mike Shramek. “In the last few times we played them our effort was much more consistent and I didn’t see it today.â€
“We just didn’t have our game,†said Klick, a junior. “We came in a little flat during warm-ups and it kind of carried over into the first period.â€
The Cardinals tried to mount a comeback as Klick’s goal brought the Cardinals within 4-3 in the third. After Mount St. Joseph senior goalie Paul McDonald denied a rally of Cardinal shots, McCrumb punched in an empty-netter from mid-ice with two seconds remaining on the clock to seal the deal.
“It’s been a nice rivalry, but we’ve had the upper hand for quite a while, so they’ve really improved this year,†Terwilliger said.
Mount St. Joseph 5, Calvert Hall 3
At Laurel Ice Gardens
Goals: Mt. St. Joe’s-McCrumb 3, Fitzhugh, Natoli; Calvert Hall-McLean 2, Klick.
Mount St. Joseph 1 1 3-5
Calvert Hall 0 1 2-3
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