North Olmsted senior tri-captain Chad Murphy skates past Avon Lake’s Josh Hanson during last Saturday’s 5-0 win over the Shoremen. Murphy scored a hat trick, getting a pair of goals in the final period to accomplish the feat. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

State-ranked Eagles skate past Shoremen
By Jim Horvath
Sports
Published Jan. 7, 2009

It was pretty evident early on how this one was going to turn out.

Despite a gutsy effort by freshman goalie Logan Galati, the Avon Lake hockey team proved no match for state-ranked North Olmsted last Saturday afternoon. Behind Chad Murphy’s hat trick, the No. 7 Eagles moved to 16-1 on the season with their 5-0 shutout win at the North Olmsted Recreation Center.

The win capped off a successful holiday season for North Olmsted. After a tough 5-4 loss to visiting Walsh Jesuit before Christmas, the Eagles rebounded with a 4-2 win over Red East Division rival Hudson in the opening round of the Trinity Christmas Tournament.

After a 5-0 win over host Trinity, North Olmsted blanked Normandy, 5-0, then defeated the Invaders again later in the day, 7-3, to win the tournament title. It was the third tournament win for the Eagles, but veteran head coach Tim Murphy was quick to point out the most important part of the season was yet to come.

“We’re keeping our early-season success in perspective,” said Murphy after the win over the Shoremen. “Our record is 4-1 (in the division), and all the rest of those wins just make our record look nicer. Our focus is on winning the Southwestern Conference and winning our division.

“Your season is based on what is done in January, so really it started today for us,” said Murphy.

All in all, it was a pretty good start. North Olmsted took the opening face off and kept the puck on the Avon Lake side of the ice for the better part of the game’s first five minutes. It kept Galati and his defense busy as the Eagles got off 13 shots on goal to just four for the Shoremen.

They managed to stay in the game after one period, trailing just 1-0 after sophomore forward Mike Konyesni scored at 10:04 off assists from junior Mike Minch and junior Sean McBride. But as the second period wore on, it was evident the bigger Eagles were beginning to wear out the visitors.

At 8:11, Murphy scored his first goal to give North Olmsted a 2-0 lead. Then at 14:00, senior forward Brandon Hammermeister scored a goal to make it 3-0 at the intermission.

Senior defenseman Dale Drellishak gets to play a little bit of offense, getting away this slap shot against Avon Lake last Saturday at North Olmsted Recreation Center. Teammate Chad Murphy waits at the other side of the goal for a rebound attempt. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Murphy got his hat trick with a pair of goals in the third period. The senior captain scored his second goal at the 7:39 mark off assists from Minch and sophomore Ryan Sutton. His third goal came nine minutes into the period, giving him 28 on the season.

Senior Brenden Maye, who has filled in for the injured Ian Smith for a good part of the season, recorded 12 saves and registered his fourth shutout of the season. His record is now 9-1.

Smith, who was recently cleared to play, is expected back soon, according to Murphy.

“Brenden’s been in goal for us since the second week of the season and has done a great job for us,” said Murphy. “He’s given us exactly what we’ve needed. Ian started skating just yesterday, but he isn’t quite ready to go yet.

“It was another good outing for Chad. I’m not sure, but I think that’s his sixth hat trick of the season. But I thought our starting line of McBride, Konyesni and Minch was pretty dominant today. They control the puck as well as any line we’ve had, and the past three weeks they’ve been our best line.

“They move the puck quickly, plus they’re all underclassmen,” he added.

Galati wound up with 40 saves for the Shoremen, who fell to 2-10 on the season.

North Olmsted now returns to Red East play this Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at home against division rival Hudson, which is 3-1.

Shots on goal
There was a moment of silence prior to the game for the father of senior tri-captain Ronnie Soltesz, Ronald T. Soltesz, who passed away recently after a lengthy illness. The team attended services for Mr. Soltesz this past Monday…Chad Murphy now has 24 assists on the season, giving him 52 points. Mike Konyesni has 18 assists, followed by Minch with 13…the Eagles have outscored their opponents, 108-31, so far this season…Hammermeister is second in goals scored with 14, followed by McBride with 13. Sutton and Minch have 12 goals each.