CATHOLIC CENTRAL COUGARS 6 vs WALSH JESUIT WARRIORS 0

Jan. 24, 2020

By Regan Cleves

BYRON CENTER, Mich. - Catholic Central Cougars snapped their three game losing streak on Friday, as they walloped the Walsh Jesuit Warriors 6-0. Lucas Chalfoun stole the show in net for the Cougars, turning aside all 15 shots thrown at him by the Warriors, to earn his first career high school shutout. Jacob Onstott also took center stage, collecting two goals and one assist in the win.

Catholic Central (7-8-3) will now take to the road, traveling north to Cedar Rock Sports Plex to take on the Rockford Rams (6-10-1) on Friday, Jan. 31. Those two teams have played already once this year, when back on Dec. 20, the Cougars came out with the victory 6-4.

Things stayed relatively quiet to open up the Catholic Showcase for both of these teams, with Chalfoun and the Warriors netminder, Brodie Lerch, standing tall between the pipes. However, the Cougars were presented with a power play late in the first, as Jackson Holzaphel was sent off for a trip. Twelve seconds into the man-advantage, the puck came free to Shayne Kwiatkowski at the top of the slot, and he fired it on goal. Lerch made the initial save, but the rebound popped out to the left side of the goalmouth, and Onstott was there to bash it home to give Catholic Central a 1-0 lead. This was a big power play goal for the Cougars, as in the course of their three-game losing streak, they went 2-for-12 with the opponent a man down.

Catholic Central added to its lead when Kimble Sullivan lasered a shot past the glove of Lerch from the left point, collecting the first of his high school career and giving the Cougars a 2-0 lead. Sullivan’s goal opened up the floodgates for Catholic Central, as it would go on to score four goals in the next 6:28. The second of the four-goal string was netted by freshman Danny McIntyre, who picked up a loose puck on the left side of the net, and with assists from Ben Clay and Gabe Sova slid it past a sprawled-out Lerch.

Onstott further extended the lead of the Cougars four minutes later, when he entered the offensive zone on the left side, walked into the circle and put it inside the far post to give Catholic Central the three-goal cushion. Onstott looked to have netted his third goal of the game at 13:25, but it was called off as Harvey Holleman was whistled off for a cross check, putting the hosts on the penalty kill.

The Cougars had killed off the majority of the penalty when Andrew Wermuth broke down the right side on a 2-on-1, and put a shot on goal. Lerch made the initial save, but the rebound landed right on Grant Coykendall’s stick and he pounded it into the empty cage to extend the lead to five and cap the four-goals-in-six-minutes streak.

It would be 17 minutes of game time until either team made another mark on the scoresheet, after both Joe Holtzer and Charlie Huscroft were sent off the ice, giving Catholic Central a 5-on-3 for two minutes. With 24 seconds left on the two-man advantage, McIntyre made a beautiful pass to Nathan Rublein in the slot, and he fired it past the Walsh Jesuit goaltender to make it a 6-0 win.

All but three Catholic Central skaters collected a point, as the Cougars racked up 42 shots on goal, with six of them hitting the twine. Chalfoun made 15 saves in his second victory of the year, and collected his first shutout in a Catholic Central uniform.

Three Stars: 1. GRCC Chalfoun (W, 15 saves, shutout); 2. GRCC Onstott (2 goals, 1 assist, game-winning goal); 3. GRCC Coykendall (goal)

Game Center: https://www.mihshockeyhub.com/game/show/27269945?subseason=641364

Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyxsLOffruA

Full Game Broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhZC7CU4leY