Breanainn McNealy scored twice and John Sage, John Beyerlein and Chris Dyer all scored once as the Archbishop Spalding Cavaliers (6-3, 4-1) blanked two-time defending MIAA A Conference ice hockey champion Calvert Hall (3-3-1, 0-2-1), at the Mount Pleasant Ice Rink on Tuesday afternoon.
Sophomore goalie Cameron Boucher registered his second shutout of the season as the Cavs ran their conference record to 4-1.
“It takes a lot of focus, and you have to bring your best game to shutout any team, and Calvert Hall just makes it tougher,” said Boucher. “Our defense was solid.”
“We have a fast, young team, and we’re skating hard and beating the other team to the puck,” added the sophomore net-minder.
Senior defenseman Kevin Hess agreed.
“We have a lot of speed and a lot of chemistry,” said Hess. ‘We pass the puck well.
The past two years, we beat Calvert Hall and lost once, and this year I think we have a very dominant team. We have a lot of young kids that are really good, and I think it’s starting to show.”
Coach Bob Trantin’s squad has early season wins over Mount St. Joseph, Gilman, and Saints Peter & Paul, and they are expected to contend for the conference championship this season.
Senior captain Joey Klima, another former Cardinal Gibbons athlete said that the Cavs played their game against Calvert Hall. “I love hockey, and it’s the only thing good coming out of the Gibbons closing.”
McNeally credited CJ Dyer and John Beyerlein, who assisted him on his goals.
“I was just going down and crashing the net,” said McNeally. “We’re just bringing good effort every game.”
The Cavaliers take on Loyola at Piney Orchard on Thursday.
| Archbishop Spalding 5, Calvert Hall 0 | |||||||||||||||
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| Goals: AS-McNeally 2, Sage, Beyerlein, Dyer. | |||||||||||||||
| Saves: AS-Boucher 12; CH-Cornelius 15. |
