Standing on the edge of the abyss, Holy Ghost Prep refused to yield. The Firebirds scored the last three goals of the evening to overcome a 4-2 second-period deficit and record a 5-4 overtime win over St. Joseph’s Prep in an APAC contest at the Skatium that was a splendid advertisement for high-school hockey.
Brady Baehser scored the game winner with 1:21 remaining in the three-on-three overtime, his second goal of the game.
The win was the third straight for Holy Ghost Prep (2-0 in the APAC). Joey Samango scored twice for the Hawks (2-1 against high-school competition), who were opening their conference schedule
Midway through the second period, things were going pretty much the Hawks’ way. With the game tied 1-1, Dante Passio, Joey Samango, and Christian Short scored goals inn a span of 5 minutes, 21 seconds to put the hosts up 4-1 with 6:47 left in the period, prompting Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside to use his timeout.
Colin Moore’s power-play goal with 2:20 left brought Holy Ghost Prep a bit closer but the Firebirds still started the third period two goals down, albeit in full possession of their resolve.
“We don’t get down on each other,” Baehser said. “We stay together, stay positive, talk about what we need to do, and get the job done.”
Baehser delivered a power-play goal 2:52 into the third period to make it a one-goal game. For the rest of the third period the two goaltenders, St. Joseph’s Prep’s Rocco Bruno and Holy Ghost Prep’s Colin Mudrick, took turns making quality saves.
Bruno yielded just once more, when Zach Pers tied the game with 1:53 remaining in regulation.
Baehser’s overtime effort was a memorable conclusion to the evening.
“I’m really proud of our boys,” Whiteside said. “I told them at the beginning of the season I was going to ask two things from them, that they work hard, have a good work ethic, and I want you to be a good teammate.
“I think you saw that in the third period and overtime. We stuck together. I think we really settled our game down, once we called that timeout. We chased the game a little bit, which you never want to do, but I was really proud of the effort and proud of our senior leadership.”
Holy Ghost Prep 1 1 2 1—5
St. Joseph’s Prep 1 3 0 0—4
First-period goals: Landon Stout (HGP) from Kieran Mulholland and Shaun Moore, 6:27 (pp); Joey Samango (SJP) from Quinn Egan, 13:36
Second-period goals: Dante Passio (SJP) from Nick Storti, 4:52 (pp); Samango (SJP) from Luca Palachick and Egan, 6:03; Christian Short (SJP) unassisted, 10:13 Colin Moore (HGP) from John Seravalli and Luke Penepresso, 14:40 (pp);
Third-period goals: Brady Baehser (HGP) from Seravalli and Moore, 2:52 (pp); Zach Pers (HGP) from Stout and Mulholland, 15:07.
Overtime goal: Baehser (HGP) from Marshall, 3:39
Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 25, St. Joseph’s Prep 25; Saves: Colin Mudrick (HGP) 21, Rocco Bruno (SJP) 20
Joey Samango scores the game’s first goal.
Video courtesy of Jost Winata
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