by Bill Huesken ‘14
The 2013 edition of Saint Ignatius Hockey features a very deep team with a trademark aggressive style. The team, led by captains Beck Schultz ’14, Harry Smith ’14, Kevin Spellacy ’14, and Jack Weigandt ‘15, was ranked first in a coaches’ poll for the league.
Despite the preseason accolade, this team will not get ahead of itself.
“We come to win. We don’t shrink from our ranking. But the key that we’ve learned from the past several years is to peak at the right time,” said Mr. Pat O’ Rourke, the head coach.
Mr. O’ Rourke said this is deepest team he has coached.
“With four full lines, we can wear out teams that only play two or three lines. Our team is in great shape,” O’Rourke said.
The team, described by Spellacy as “the hardest working team I’ve been on,” has spent countless hours conditioning in the offseason.
After graduating star center Miles McQuinn, who totaled 115 goals and 103 assists in his career at Ignatius, the team will not look to one single player to fill in.
“We need everyone to produce, and I feel that everyone can,” Smith said.
O’ Rourke added that while the team may not have one player who can score 50 goals, it has many players who could potentially score 20 or 30 goals.
All three goalies from last year graduated. The void will be filled by sophomores Wes Deacon and Dylan McKeon. To support the young goalies as they gain experience, the defense will look to play very aggressively and to block shots.
“We want to be physical and make teams think twice about going for the puck in the corner,” said Smith.
The team opened its season at 4:30 p.m. t Quicken Loans Arena against the always-strong University School with a 4-3 shootout loss. Ignatius plays St. Edward in Lakewood on Jan. 4 and at home in Brooklyn on Jan. 24.
The ’Cats will play a total of six games in Brooklyn, five in Lakewood, and two tournaments in Strongsville. They also will play two games on the East Side, giving fans from all sides of town plenty of opportunities to cheer for them this year.
