Game Observations: Chaminade (NY) 5, St. Ignatius (CA) 4

First Half
-The first play of the day would foreshadow things to come. Chaminade won the faceoff and came in on a fast break, but were stopped on a good save by St. Ignatius goaltender Cyrus Scott (Colgate), who would feature prominently in this one.

-St. Ignatius would fail their first clearing attempt, which would also be a theme in the first half. The Wildcats really seemed to struggle against Chaminade’s aggressive ride.
-After three consecutive stops and subsequent failed clearing attempts by St. Ignatius, Ryan Lukacovic (Virginia) would net the first of his three goals on the day to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead.
-The teams would trade possessions, as St. Ignatius settled in.
-The Wildcats had trouble with Chaminade’s aggressive defense 6-on-6, as the Flyers kept them off-balance and on the perimeter.
-After another good save by Scott near the end of the quarter, St. Ignatius attackman Joe Lang (Harvard) took advantage of the unsettled situation with a nifty dodge-and-score from the wing to tie the game at 1 with :56 left in the first.
-The score would remain there after one.
-While Chaminade largely dominated the play, they were unable to translate their possession time into goals.
-The second quarter opened with St. Ignatius killing off a penalty. Shortly thereafter, however, Lukacovic would score his second of the game.
-Off the ensuing faceoff, the Flyers would score a fast-break goal to take a 3-1 lead.
-Chaminade would strike again two minutes later to take a 4-1 lead.
-It was here the game felt like it may be slipping away from St. Ignatius. They were playing a lot of defense and getting stops, but their offensive possessions were much too quick and they were committing a lot of unforced turnovers.
-While St. Ignatius struggled offensively, credit the Chaminade defense. They played very aggressively as a unit and were excellent and intercepting passes, especially inside.
-While Chaminade controlled the game at this point, they could not get a fifth goal past Scott, who made some incredible saves to keep his team in it.
-Scott was very good low, making a few highlight-reel worthy kick saves from shots taken inside.
-The half would end with Chaminade leading 4-1.

Second Half
-Chaminade would control the opening draw, but a good defensive stand by St. Ignatius would give them the ball.
-On their ensuing possession, Lang was able to make another excellent move to find David Fleming (Fairfield) wide-open on the backside for an easy score, making it 4-2.
-The Wildcats would possess the ball again after a Flyer infraction on the faceoff.
-Again, however, Chaminade’s defense kept most of the action to the outside.
-St. Ignatius would get off a shot, but goaltender Danny Fowler (Duke) – who like his counterpart played very well – made the save and quick outlet pass.
-Lukacovic would finish the fast break on the other end, pushing the lead back to three at 5-2.
-Chaminade would then possess the ball for an extended period of time, but could not solve Scott.
-While a lot of credit goes to Scott for his acrobatics in the cage, the defense in front of him played well. Chaminade was unable to really break the defense down, and had to settle for some less-than-ideal shots from the outside which were gobbled up by Scott.
-After almost seven minutes of possession time, the score remained 5-2. Scott became the biggest story of the game at this point.
-Seizing the momentum afforded them by their goaltender, St. Ignatius would net two goals in the final 2:33 of the quarter to pull within one at 5-4.
-Fittingly, Scott made a point-blank save as time expired in third, setting up the Wildcats with all of the momentum entering the final frame.
-The fourth quarter was defined by long, fruitless possessions. The defenses of both teams – as they had all day – played very well.
-The teams essentially traded two-minute possessions but were unable to generate much in the way of quality scoring chances, mainly settling for outside or tough-angle shots.
-If the first eight minutes were an exercise in patience, the final three were anything but.
-The teams traded turnovers, resulting in up-and-down action that saw a couple of excellent opportunities to tie the game squandered by the Wildcats.
-Chaminade had the ball with around one minute remaining, but St. Ignatius was able to force a turnover and call timeout to set up a play in the Chaminade end with :31 left.
-As they have all year, though, the Chaminade defense was up to the task, as they did not allow a quality shot to get through before time expired.
-It was a thrilling, drama-filled finish.
-It was notable to me how much respect each program – players, coaches and fans – showed the other. It was an awesome day, and a great reflection of the growth of the sport out West.
-FINAL: Chaminade 5, St. Ignatius 4

TEN TEAM OBSERVATIONS

Chaminade Offense
-Skilled group with a good concept of the game.
-Excellent passers – made countless quality looks to the backside as a team.
-Fantastic riding group – caused numerous turnovers and were very aggressive.
-Well coached and very careful with the ball, rarely turning it over via bad passes or poor decision-making.
-While an above average group, they lacked a premier dodger that could individually break down a defense.

Chaminade Defense
-A clutch group – made a final stop to end the game and played with plenty of poise down the stretch in a close contest.
-They are very aggressive and push out on ball carriers very effectively.
-They were excellent at collapsing on the crease, thwarting feeds to cutters.
-Play good one-on-one defense, utilizing good foot position.
-Excellent sticks – intercepted a lot of passes inside.

St. Ignatius Offense
-Have good team speed and some great athletes.
-Settled in and possessed the ball well, especially in the second half.
-Had some shifty players that were able to take advantage of unsettled situations with dodges to the goal.
-Struggled to handle Chaminade pressure at times, which forced rushed looks on cage or to cutters on the crease.
-While they did not get a great shot at the end, they handled the ball well and played with poise in a big spot. They simply could not solve the Flyer defense late.

St. Ignatius Defense
-They were led by their goaltender, who was nothing short of spectacular.
-Played very solid 6-on-6 and in settled situations.
-Were fluid as a unit sliding and replacing, which limited looks inside.
-They struggled handling Chaminade’s pressure ride, especially early.
-Man-down defense was very good, killing off a series of penalties with relative ease.

THREE PLAYERS THAT LEFT AN IMPRESSION