By ALASTAIR PEARSON ’14 and PATRICK MILLICAN ’15 with BILL HUESKEN ’15
After seven overtime periods, the Ohio State High School Athletic Association ordered an end to overtime play and declared the Saint Ignatius Wildcats and the Sylvania Northview Wildcats co-state champions.
The controversial decision averted an octuple overtime and brought an unusual end to the Wildcats dominant season. It also made good on Coach Patrick O’Rourke’s promise to bring another state championship trophy home to 1911 West 30th Street.
The final score of 1-1 was the result of a ferocious offensive performance by Saint Ignatius, who kept the pressure up on the Northview goalie throughout both overtimes. Ignatius dominated shots on goal 79 to 27, with several potential gamewinners deflecting off the posts in overtime.
The tie, despite the dominant Ignatius performance on offense, was largely the result of Sylvania goalkeeper David Marsh’s superhuman effort between the pipes. Marsh withstood 79 shots on goal by the Ignatius offense. The Sylvania Northview Wildcats scored early in the first period to go up 1-0, and maintained their advantage for the first two periods before Danny Brogan netted the game-typing goal with 7:45 remaining in the third period
The win was the result of a collective will to win that fueled three periods of trademark Ignatius hockey – a relentless, hard-skating attack that wore down, but ultimately couldn’t crack the Sylvania defense.
The victory marks the third state championship in hockey for the Saint Ignatius Wildcats, and the second for Coach Patrick O’Rourke including his 2010 team’s triumph over Sylvania.
The first-place finish in the state tournament was Ignatius’s first hockey state championship since 2010, when the Ice Cats triumphed over Northview 4-1 to give Coach O’Rourke his first state title as the varsity head coach.
The seven overtimes set a state record for the longest championship game, and almost matched the 2007 record for longest game overall before the game was cut short to protect the health and safety of the players. More than 23,000 listeners tuned in to the Saint Ignatius Broadcasting Network’s live broadcast of the game from the press box, setting an SIBN record.
The victory, shared with Sylvania, marks the third state championship in hockey for the Saint Ignatius Wildcats, and the second for Coach Patrick O’Rourke including his 2010 team’s triumph over Sylvania.
The season’s goals accomplished, the team look to celebrate their fiercely contested championship. But first, they’ll get some well-earned rest. And for all the controversy over the OHSAA’s call to cut the game short, Coach O’Rourke didn’t mince words about what he thought of the victory.
“We’re state champs,” he said.
