Reds eliminated in overtime
An unlucky break bounced the Denis Morris Reds out of the OFSAA AA boys hockey championships Wednesday.
Cody Bach scored just 20 seconds into overtime to give the St. Michael Catholic Secondary School Crusaders a 3-2 overtime win over the Reds in a quarter-final playoff game Wednesday at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations AA boys hockey championships in St. Catharines.
The loss eliminated the Reds just two wins from a possible medal.
Bach’s goal came when he fired a shot from the boards in the general direction of the net, only to have the puck bounce off a DM defender and into the top of the net over the shoulder of Reds goaltender Brandon Alexander.
It was a perfect bank shot.
“There’s never an easy way to lose in overtime,” Reds coach Billy McLaren said. “You want it to be that pretty, highlight reel goal. How many times do you watch NHL games and it goes into the fourth overtime and it goes in off someone’s skate or from behind the goal line?
“If you get puck luck, you’ll do well. If you don’t get puck luck, that kind of thing happens.”
With so much parity in the tournament, McLaren said the difference between winning and losing often comes down to a break or a bounce.
“The hardest thing is getting to OFSAA. Once you get there, you need bounces. We got one yesterday, we didn’t get anything today,” he said.
The Reds were obviously and understandably disappointed with the outcome, but McLaren said the team had no regrets.
“After that game, it was you left everything you had on the ice,” McLaren said asked what the post-game speech centred on. “We had a few guys who went away to Cuba so we went with our lineup that was here. I felt bad for the guys who didn’t get into the lineup, but the guys that played left everything on the ice and when you do that, nobody can be mad at you.
“You lose a game like that, there’s nothing you can do.”
Denis Morris captain Zander DeDivitiis agreed.
“It was a great experience for everyone, even the guys that are going to go in the OHL draft, I’m glad they got to have this,” the 17-year-old Pelham resident said. “I’m just proud of us either way.”
DeDivitiis began the season with the Niagara Riverhawks of the Provincial Junior (C) Hockey League, but gave that up to skate with the Reds.
“Coming from winning one game in the regular season to making a run like this, I’m sad it had to end this way but I’m proud of what we did,” he said. “That was probably the worst way to lose.”
DM starting goaltender Owen McNeish-Fortune once again had a standout game in goal until having to leave after a collision late in the third.
“He’s literally a beast,” McLaren said. “He’s 6-foot-7 and with skates on he’s got to be 6-foot-9. He’s so impressive with this size and how lateral his movements can be.”
DeDivitiis, Ethan Fisher and Luka Radovanovic scored for the Reds.
Dominic Marshall, Nolan Miller and Vincent Voros replied for the Mustangs, who are coached by St. Catharines native and former Brock lacrosse player Bryson Filipetti.
The Reds advanced to the quarter-finals with a 3-2 victory over Immaculata High School of Ottawa earlier in the day.
Radovanovic had two goals and Nathan DiPietro one for DM.
Kaden St. Denis and Isaiah Obiorah replied for the Saints.
Overall, McLaren was thrilled how things went for the Reds.
“It was awesome. The kids knew this from the beginning of the year and knew we had a shot. I told them we were 15th but in my head, at the seeding meeting, we could be ranked one, two, three or four.
“We played with all of them and played well.”
Thursday morning’s semifinals will see St. Michael playing Regiopolis Notre Dame and Paris District versus St. Mary’s College. The bronze medal game will be played at 1 p.m. followed by the gold medal game at 3 p.m. at the Seymour-Hannah Sports Complex.
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