BISHOP RYAN​​ CELTICS

CELTICS COMPETE IN PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

 

From March 21-23, the Celtics competed in the OFSAA Provincial Championships for the 1st time in school history after a thrilling victory over the #1 ranked Bishop Reding Royals in the GHAC Championship on March 8. 

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Before the Celtics hit the ice for their first game of the tournament, an unfortunate illness started to sweep it's way through the team, taking numerous players out of the lineup. The first major hit was the loss of rookie sensation Ben Fox, who was second on the team in scoring throughout the season. Unfortunately, Fox was unable to suit up for any games in the tournament. Unable to field a full team for any of the games the Celtics had a tough road ahead of them, as they were also placed into a very tough pod with the #1 ranked Brother Andre, #7 ranked Holy Cros, and #14 ranked Orangeville. The Celtics were ranked #12 heading into the Championships.

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The first game was against the #7 ranked Holy Cross. Holy Cross jumped out to a very quick start and took a commanding 3-0 lead over the Celtics. Shortly after, a very unfortunate play resulted in a serious injury to a Holy Cross player, and a major penalty and game misconduct to Celtic captain Nathan Jones. This was yet another blow to an already shortened roster dealing with the illnesses. However, the Celtics turned up the heat and stormed back tying the game at 3-3. That comeback would be short lived however, as Holy Cross took advantage of a couple Celtic turnovers and skated away with a 6-3 victory.

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In game 2, the Celtics took on the #1 ranked Brother Andre in a very tight contest. The Celtics controlled much of the play, however, found themselves down 2-0 to the top team in the province. Again, as the Celtics have continued to do all season long, they tilted the ice and tied the game up at 2-2 heading into the 3rd period. The game remained tied for much of the 3rd period, with the Brother Andre goaltender making highlight reel saves to shut the door on the Celtics. Late in the 3rd a redirected shot from the blue line found the back of the net behind Celtic goalie Jacob Hicks to take a 3-2 lead. An empty net goal followed and the Celtics fell to Brother Andre 4-2.

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In the 3rd game of the tournament, the Celtics took the ice against #14 Orangeville. Now with more players ill, and a few more out with injuries, the mountain to climb was getting steeper. The game was close until Orangeville took advantage of several Celtic penalties in the 3rd period and skated away with a 5-1 victory.

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With the losses, the Celtics were eliminated from the Tournament. The #1 ranked Brother Andre, would eventually go on to win the OFSAA Championships.

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Taking nothing away from this team, this was a huge accomplishment for this group of boys as they were the first team in school history to ever compete at the OFSAA Championships.​

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A season to remember for sure, Back to Back HWCDSB Champions (1st time in School History), GHAC Championships (1st time in School History), OFSAA Qualifiers & Participants (1st time in School History).

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Congratulations Celtics on an unbelievable season!

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Crusaders, Celtics suffer losses in OFSAA pool play

By Larry Moko

The St. Mary Crusaders began play at the 16-team Ontario A/AA high school tournament with a pair of losses in St. Catharines Tuesday.

In their opener, the Crusaders fell 4-0 to Ottawa’s Immaculata Saints. Then, a few hours later, they suffered an 11-0 setback against the host Denis Morris Reds.

St. Mary’s final pool-play start is Wednesday against the King City Lions. Advancing to the quarter-finals is out of the question for the Crusaders.

One-sided scores are unusual for St. Mary, a school that in 2017 got edged out 3-2 in a shootout game for the gold medal. That was in Fort Frances. And the following year, in Collingwood, St. Mary advanced to the quarter-final round before bowing out.

The Crusaders also gained OFSAA experience in 2016 in Ottawa.

“We came here expecting to compete against some of the best teams in the province,” Crusaders coach Jason Kokoski said. “Our guys tried hard. They’re all sweating. But we got it handed to us. It is what it is.”

A veteran coach of almost 20 years, Kokoski pointed out that despite being the No. 15 seed, Denis Morris is a talented team. “So we do have to give them some credit,” he said.

The sixth-seeded Crusaders, who reached the Hamilton league finals earlier this month for a sixth-straight year, yielded a goal to the Reds after only 92 seconds. They trailed 2-0 at the end of the first period and 7-0 entering the third.

Immaculata completed Day 1with a 2-0 record, while Denis Morris and King City were each1-1. Denis Morris’ loss was 3-2 to fourth-seeded King City.

“The hockey part is frustrating, but our kids are having a great time,” Kokoski said. “This experience has been missing for all these kids for three years (cancelled by OFSAA due to COVID-19).”

According to Kokoski, the three days of OFSAA is about more than just hockey.

“The players get to stay in a hotel and hang out with their friends,” he said. “We’re going to a nice dinner tonight (OFSAA banquet) and we went bowling.

“So from that perspective, I’m happy for the kids.”

The team that St. Mary lost to in the city championship – the Bishop Ryan Celtics – also struggled Tuesday at OFSAA. Competing at the AAA level in Windsor, the 12th-ranked Celtics lost twice.

Bishop Ryan went down 6-3 to Kingston’s Holy Cross Crusaders and then 4-2 against the Brother Andre Cardinals of York.

“The competition was good,” Celtics coach Justin Cannon said.

“We were down 3-0 in the first game and battled like crazy to tie it back up in the second period.”

Sean Underhill scored a pair of goals for BR in the opener – once on the power play and once shorthanded – and Ryan Wercholaz added a single.

Against Brother Andre, Luca Alfieri and Chris Lamont accounted for the Bishop Ryan goals.

“Our second game against the No. 1 seed was a close one down to the wire,” the BR coach said. “We tied it at 2-2 but with three minutes left they took a wrist shot from the blue line that was re-directed into the top corner. They then added an empty-netter with three seconds left.”

The Celtics complete pool-play action Wednesday against the 14-seeded Orangeville Bears.

“We still have a chance,” Cannon said. “If we win and Brother Andre wins, three teams will be 1-2. It (tie-breaking procedures for advancement into the quarter-finals) will come down to the scores of the games.”

The Celtics attended a Detroit Red Wings NHL game on Monday night where they also got some memorable photographs and autographs.

“Ben Chiarot (a Red Wings defenceman) played two years for the Bishop Ryan hockey team,” Cannon said. “We met with Ben and he took the boys to see the Red Wings dressing room. It was nice.”

Ben’s father, Matt, is a teacher at St. Jean de Brebeuf Catholic Secondary School, while Ben’s uncle, Gord, teaches at St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School.