BROOKLYN — It was Senior Day for Elyria Catholic on Saturday.
Not officially. The Panthers’ 12th graders were honored on Jan. 26 on their home ice at North Park Rink. But Saturday afternoon’s 6-0 victory in Brooklyn district tournament play against Trinity certainly spotlighted the EC seniors.
Brad Moore played a whale of a game in goal for EC, stopping all 31 shots that came at him. Richie Baker and Brad Kelley, the only other seniors on the Panthers’ roster, each scored two goals and had an assist.
“Ths was a great example of senior leadership,” EC coach Dave Phiel said. “Moore played three periods of solid hockey. Baker set the tone with his two quick goals Kelley scored two goals as well as playing great defense.”
Baker scored his goals 22 seconds apart in the second period to give Elyria Catholic (16-11-1) a 3-0 lead. Kelley made it 4-0 before the end of the second and picked up another goal in the third period.
Gary Spikowski, a defenseman brought up from the junior varsity, got his first goal with 6:19 remaining. Sean Muir gave EC a 1-0 lead on a first-period goal.
The Panthers advance to play North Olmsted, a 5-0 winner over Normandy on Saturday, in a district quarterfinal game Thursday at 7 p.m. Trinity finished its season 10-19-1.
Moore, whom Phiel said might have played his best game of the season, believes EC has put everything together at the right moment.
“It’s nice to know I’m still here,” Moore said. “Can’t go wrong with a 31-save shutout. I think it pumps the team up for our next game.”
The score was vindication for the team in general, and Moore in particular. The Panthers had a 3-1 lead on Trinity in a North Coast League tournament game Dec. 11 before the Trojans came back to win 6-4.
“It’s been a hell of a turnaround for us since we last played them,” Phiel said, noting that EC was 2-6-1 at one point in the season.
Muir gave the Panthers all the scoring they’d need when he put a slap shot in the net at 10:13. The goal came 12 seconds into a 4-on-4 situation after Trinity’s Brian Burke was ticketed for tripping.
Baker’s first goal, unassisted, came three minutes into the second period. Baker got No. 2 on a backhand shot off a pass from Justin Saunders.
Kelley’s first goal came at 8:08, only eight seconds after leaving the penalty box. Kelley was standing alone on the blue line when Mitch Haszto took the puck and slipped a pass to Kelly way ahead of any Trinity defender. Kelley skated in and slammed it over goalie Rich Rykalla.
Kelley’s second goal came on a slap shot from just inside the blue line following a pass from Baker. Kelley then assisted on Spikowski’s first varsity goal.
North Olmsted (22-6) advanced to meet the Panthers thanks to 13 points from its trio of Sam DeJoy, Logan Beach and Chad Murphy.
DeJoy and Beach scored two goals and Murphy got one. Murphy assisted on all the goals they didn’t score and Beach added an assist. An assist by freshman defenseman Casey Jones was the only other point of the night.
“That line is potent,” North Olmsted coach Tim Murphy said. “Chad and Sam have been together (on the varsity) for three years. Logan has been playing with them for a long time. That’s a lot of chemistry.”
Murphy and DeJoy scored power-play goals in the first period. The score stayed 2-0, despite North Olmsted’s domination of play, until the Eagles scored three times in less than a minute late in the third period.
Thursday’s game will be the second meeting between EC and North Olmsted. The Eagles won 4-2 on Dec. 9.

Elyria Catholic 6, Trinity 0

Trinity    0    0    0    —    0
Elyria Catholic    1    3    2    —    6
FIRST: 1. EC, Sean Muir (unassisted), 10:13. Penalties — EC, Brent Zifcak (interference), 9:13; T, Brian Burke (tripping), 10:01.
SECOND: 2. EC, Richie Baker (unassisted), 2:59; 3. EC, Richie Baker (Justin Saunders), 3:21; 4. EC, Brad Kelley (Mitch Haszto), 8:08. Penalties — T, John Sobonya (tripping), 4:48; EC, Pat DeSouza (slashing), 5:06; EC, Brad Kelley (holding), 6:00; EC, Richie Baker (tripping), 10:18; T, Steve Mitch (tripping), 12:31; T, Steve Mitch (interference), 14:55.
THIRD: 5. EC, Brad Kelley (Richie Baker), 4:26; 6. EC, Gary Spikowski (Brad Kelley), 8:41. Penalties — T, Steve Zirneski (holding), 3:11; EC, Mitch Haszto (interference), 5:01; EC, Matt Fielding (slashing), 7:03, T, Joe Hribar (tripping), 7:42; EC, Bryce Steindl (holding), 11:03; T, John Sobonya (interference), 12:01.
Shots on goal — Trinity 9-8-14—31, Elyria Catholic 9-9-11—29. Goalies — T, Rich Rykalla (29 shots, 23 saves); EC, Brad Moore (31 shots, 31 saves). Power-play opportunities — Trinity 0 of 6, Elyria Catholic 1 of 6.

North Olmsted 5, Normandy 0

Normandy    0    0    0    —    0
North Olmsted    2    0    3    —    5
FIRST: 1. NO, Chad Murphy (Sam DeJoy, Casey Jones), 10:45; 2. NO, Sam DeJoy (Chad Murphy), 14:08. Penalties — N, Matt Grandinetti (interference), 10:28; N, Steve Samijlenko (slashing), 12:35.
SECOND: No scoring. Penalties — N, Matt Grandinetti (holding), 7:12; NO, Mike Minch (hooking), 10:56.
THIRD: 3. NO, Logan Beach (Chad Murphy, Sam DeJoy), 9:35; 4. NO, Sam DeJoy (Chad Murphy, Logan Beach), 9:49; 5. NO, Logan Beach (Chad Murphy, Sam DeJoy), 10:31. Penalties — NO, Ronnie Soltesz (hooking), 3:17; N, Matt Grandinetti (high-sticking), 9:57; NO, Ross Whitworth (interference), 11:48; N, Kurt Boyer (tripping), 12:27; NO, Ronnie Soltesz (roughing), 12:27.
Shots on goal — Normandy 5-5-6—16, North Olmsted 14-16-11—41. Goalies — N, Tim Gearhart (41 shots, 36 saves); NO, Zech Laughbaum (16 shots, 16 saves). Power-play opportunities — Normandy 0 of 3, North Olmsted 3 of 4.

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.
You must be registered and logged in to post a comment. If you aren't already registered, click here.
If you are registered, click here to log in.
Need help? Email Us.