Cardinal O'Hara wins 2022 ICSHL PCL Title in 1-0 Double OT Victory vs. Father Judge - PSD Photo by Zack Beavers
PHILADELPHIA – Cardinal O’Hara won the ICSHL Philadelphia Catholic League title on March 2, edging out Father Judge 1-0 in double overtime. The game was a physical, grueling, defensive battle that had both teams putting out their best effort throughout all five periods.
Father Judge came out looking like the faster team and was getting more chances in front of the goal. Cardinal O’Hara was struggling to get the puck into the offensive zone and was allowing a ton of shots on net. Through the first two periods, Father Judge had 23 shots on goal to Cardinal O’Hara’s nine. Once the third period began, Cardinal O’Hara came out with a new energy and made the game much more competitive.
Both goalies kept their respective teams in the game and were the two best players on the ice.
Cardinal O’Hara’s Christian Green stopped 55 shots and held a shutout through five periods, which is extremely impressive, while Father Judge senior captain Colin McKee stopped 34 of 35 shots. Both goalies made huge saves down the stretch to keep the game tied until the second overtime period, when Nathan Fox found Luke Melito on a tape-to-tape pass, who scored the game-winning goal. Julian Gavin also collected an assist on the play for the Lions.
“I’ve been waiting since freshman year to get this goal and win the PCL,” Melito said. “We were runners-up two years in a row, so this really felt good to tuck that one in the back of the net.”
Cardinal O’Hara head coach Jeffrey Beck spoke on the game plan heading into the matchup and the adjustments made throughout the game.
“Protect the front of the net and keep everybody out of the house and out to your point men. ‘Whose got the heart? Who is ready to make that sacrificial play?’ was part of our game plan tonight, and every single guy who stepped on the ice and anybody who didn’t played their part perfectly. 1-0 game, couldn’t ask for more.”
CARDINAL O’HARA HEAD COACH JEFFREY BECK SAID EVERYONE PLAYED THEIR PART & LOOKS FORWARD TO THE FLYERS CUP - VIDEO BY JOHN WILSON
CARDINAL O'HARA'S CHRISTIAN GREEN & LUKE MELITO WERE OVERJOYED TO COME AWAY WITH THE ICSHL PCL TITLE - VIDEO BY JOHN WILSON
In the post-game handshake line, both goaltenders shared a moment with each other to acknowledge and show respect for each other’s amazing performances, which was great to see after a hard-fought dogfight. Green was the first member of the Lion’s team to hold the trophy and skated it towards the fans, where the team gathered around and celebrated.
“The whole year this was our goal,” Green said. “We all knew what we had to do, and it showed on the scoreboard.”