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Chicago Catholic Hockey League

The Chicago Catholic Hockey League (CCHL) was established in 1963.  The league consists of eleven Chicagoland Catholic schools offering high school hockey as a school sponsored sport.  The CCHL is the oldest youth hockey league in Illinois and is administered and operated by current and former league coaches.  The Kennedy Cup playoffs have been the highlight of each season making the Kennedy Cup one of the most coveted trophies in high school athletics in Illinois.

The CCHL maintains a rich history of talented student athletes that have gone on to play collegiately, internationally and professionally. Notable alumni include former NHL players Chris Chelios (Mount Carmel), Ed Olczyk (Br. Rice), Bates Battaglia (Fenwick), Joe Corvo (Fenwick) and Tim Stapleton (Fenwick). Former NCAA standouts Gary Kruzich (DeLaSalle, 1984 NCAA Champion at Bowling Green 1984 and Finals MVP) and Scott Paluch (St. Rita and Bowling Green 1988 All American ). The CCHL has produced current and former collegiate coaches: George Roll (Br. Rice and Nazareth College), Joe Augustine (St. Rita and Rhode Island University) Mark Opstipina (Mount Carmel and Milwaukee School of Engineering) and John Micheletto (Mount Carmel and U-MassAmherst). 

 

CCHL Celebrates 60th Anniversary

The 2023-24 Season marks the 60th Anniversary of the Chicago Catholic Hockey League.

The CCHL is the oldest youth ice hockey league in the state of Illinois.

Check back throughout the season for information about special events to commemorate the 60th Anniversary.

2024 CCHL Playoffs

Congratulations to St. Ignatius (Kennedy Cup) and Br. Rice (DiCristina Cup) Champions!

2023-24 Chicago Catholic League Awards

Congratulations to the recipients of these prestigious awards for the 2023-24 Season!

President's Cup to the 1st Place Regular Season Team:

St. Ignatius Wolfpack

Lowest Team Goals Against

St. Ignatius Wolfpack (tie)

Fenwick Friars (tie)

John Dueran Award for the Most Valuable Player

Hudson Schlie (Benet)

Tom Kurow Award for the Most Outstanding Player

Tiernan Ryan (St. Ignatius)

Most Valuable Defenseman

Charlie Reif (St. Ignatius)

Nolan O'Malley (St. Rita)

Jim Misiora Leading Scorer Award

Tiernan Ryan (St. Ignatius)

Bill Pelluse Award to the Coach of Year

Nick Fabbrini (Fenwick)

2023-24 All-State Team

Defenseman:

Charles Reif (St. Ignatius)

Forwards:

Dominic Fosco (Fenwick)

Jack Keaty (Br. Rice)

Tiernan Ryan (St. Ignatius)

Hudson Schlie (Benet)

 

CCHL All-Star Team

Here are the players selected for the 2023-24 CCHL All Star Team

CCHL ALL-STAR TEAM 2023-2024
Name Position School Year in School
Ethan Laughlin Goalie Saint Ignatius Senior
Charlie Reif Defense Saint Ignatius Senior
Eghan Ryan Defense Saint Ignatius Senior
Brendan Harkins Defense St. Rita Senior
Nico Felice Forward Providence Catholic Senior
Jack Keaty Forward Brother Rice Senior
Danny Quinlan Defense Benet Academy Junior
Nolan O'Malley Defense St. Rita Senior
Colum Chinlund Forward Saint Ignatius Senior
John Moore Defense Fenwick Senior
Dominic Fosco Forward Fenwick Junior
Hudson Schlie Forward Benet Academy Junior
Jackson Steinlauf Forward Saint Ignatius Junior
Carson Burriss Forward Providence Catholic Senior
Jeremy DeWilkins Forward Benet Academy Senior
Dan O'Connor Forward Mount Carmel Junior
Johnny Sena Forward Fenwick Junior
Tiernan Ryan Forward Saint Ignatius Junior
Michael Verni Forward Fenwick Senior
Spencer Lisek Goalie Fenwick Senior
Charles Donoghue Goalie Marmion Academy Senior
60th Anniversary Flyer and Webstore

CCHL Game Articles

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Integration with GameSheet

The CCHL is pleased to announce that all regular season and playoff games will be scored via GameSheet.  Games played in rinks with available Wi-Fi will be scored "live".  This will allow games to be followed in real time.  Also, in rinks that have Livebarn streams, the stream will have the real time date from GameSheet available.


CCHL Game Articles

If you had to create a poster that shows how much winning a Kennedy Cup means to players in the Chicago Catholic Hockey League, it might be a shot of injured Fenwick captain Michael Verni crawling off the ice on Thursday, and struggling mightily just to get onto the Friars’ bench.

There was no keeping Verdi on that bench. Ten minutes later, he re-entered the chaos of the second double-overtime game played in 48 hours against Saint Ignatius.

“He’s a senior captain, his dad played at Fenwick, and he just gets it,” Fenwick coach Nick Fabbrini said. “The Kennedy Cup trophy means a lot.”

Two double-overtime games have shown as much. Saint Ignatius won Game One Tuesday on a goal in double overtime from Tiernan Ryan, and Fenwick returned the favor Thursday on a goal in double overtime from Will Pabst.

Winning a Kennedy Cup should be a hard thing to do, and Fenwick and Saint Ignatius have made sure that whichever of them wins the Cup this year, they'll have earned it.

While Verni could have been the poster child for Thursday’s game, Pabst and Spencer Lisek were the heroes in the box score for Fenwick. Pabst scored the game-winning goal with roughly nine minutes remaining in a second overtime, giving his side a 5-4 win and sending the Cup finals to a series-deciding third game.

“I moved it to Michael Verni - who played a great game — and he moved it back down to me,” Pabst said. “I went behind the net and saw their goalie shift to the left so I took it back to right and tried a wraparound. He got his pad back in time but (the puck) was under him, sitting around, and the next thing I saw was like eight sticks jamming away at the puck. I saw it under him and just gave it a good whack. I was just hacking at it, hoping it went in.

“It was going to be a dirty, grimy goal that won this game, and it feels amazing.”

Everyone in Fenwick’s locker room afterwards was singing the praises of Lisek, who had 50 saves in the win against a Wolfpack team that finished with a 54-21 edge in shots. Lisek shined particularly bright in overtime, stopping all 18 Wolfpack shots he faced. Lisek also made 44 saves in Game One.

“We all played a great game, especially Spencer,” Pabst said of his goalie. “He has kept us in it for both games, for sure. He was lights out tonight. In both games, he’s just been absurd.”

Fans were lined up three deep along the glass at the Wolfpack’s home ice inside Fifth Third Arena in Chicago. It was a raucous atmosphere befitting the hunt for the brass ring of the CCHL.

Fenwick held a one-goal lead three times in Game One, only to see Saint Ignatius battle back to win 4-3. The Friars repeated the script, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in Game Two on goals from Dominic Fosco and Arden Tantaro before the game was six minutes old.

And those two goals were scored a mere seven seconds apart.

The first came when Mikey Curtin took a puck through the neutral zone up the right side in transition, and centered a pass to a streaking Fosco. Fosco closed in and went to his forehand at the 10:16 mark to give Fenwick its 1-0 lead.

Fenwick’s Charlie Bastedo won the ensuing draw at center ice and raced behind the Wolfpack’s defense, sliding a pass to his left for Tantaro to one-time it for the 2-0 lead.

Fenwick was elated, but Saint Ignatius coach Spence Montgomery was less than pleased with how those  two goals transpired.

“We gave up odd-man rushes because our effort there was casual. That can’t happen,” Montgomery said. “We’ve got GBS on Sunday (in state tournament play) and if you play like that, you’ll be out of the state tournament. You just can’t do it. So we have to have a real short memory here, reset, and go to battle in state and hopefully continue that part of our season.”

The Wolfpack’s state tournament schedule could delay the deciding third game against Fenwick until next weekend.

Nobody inside the packed arena likely believed that Fenwick's 2-0 lead would hold up. Game One featured three Saint Ignatius comebacks from one-goal deficits, and a high-powered Wolfpack team didn’t disappoint its fans in Game Two.

Saint Ignatius’ Colum Chinlund was a persistent threat throughout, and less than two minutes into the second period he cut his side’s deficit in half. Chinlund scored his fifth goal against Fenwick in five games this year at the 15:28 mark, cleaning up an initial shot taken by Charlie Reif.

Chinlund also keyed his side’s second goal, which came with 4:54 left in the second period. He fired from the right side and Lisek made the initial stop, but Michael Hollub was there to punch home the rebound, tying the game 2-2.

Lisek was doing everything he could against a Wolfpack team that held a 28-12 edge in shots through two periods, but their ability to clean up rebounds had tied the game.

Fabbrini wanted his boys to do a better job covering those rebounds.

“(Saint Ignatius) doesn’t need second and third chances,” Fabbrini said. “They’ve got some great players who can make things happen on their own. Some teams need help to create offense and some have players who can do it on their own, and they don’t need any help.”

With time winding down in the second period, Fosco took his turn creating a scoring chance. He won a puck on Fenwick’s end and broke up the ice on the left side before crossing a sweet pass over to Verni, who buried it with just 51 seconds remaining before intermission.

The Wolfpack answered. Saint Ignatius struck twice in the third period less than two minutes apart to grab a 4-3 lead — its first lead in regulation play in the series.

It was Max Meyer who tied the game for Saint Ignatius, at the 12:43 mark. Jackson Bossert fired from the right side and the puck caromed out to Meyer, who spun on it and fired from the high slot near the right circle to make it 3-3.

Jackson Steinlauf - who forced overtime in Game One with a late goal - gave Saint Ignatius its 4-3 lead at 11:23. An Eghan Ryan shot from the point on the left side hit a stick in front before Lisek made the stop, but Steinlauf crashed net on the right side and buried the rebound.

The Saint Ignatius lead held up for less than a minute, and the culprit was Fosco yet again, on a fine setup from Verni and Curtin. From below the Saint Ignatius goal, Verni slid a pass across to Curtin, who found Fosco in front for a one-timer that tied the game.

“He’s got a great shot, an elite shot,” Fabbrini said of Fosco. “And he’s certainly not afraid to shoot the puck. He’s been our best offensive player all year and I think it’s been a growing and learning process for him and for us as a group.”

Fosco led Fenwick in points during the regular season with 18 goals and 10 assists.

The first overtime period belonged to Lisek. Just as they did in Game One, the Wolfpack found another gear in overtime, firing 17 shots in 17 minutes, but Lisek didn't budge.

It was ultimately a Fenwick power play that spelled doom for Saint Ignatius. Montgomery wasn’t thrilled with his boys being whistled for two penalties in overtime, and the Friars capitalized when Pabst stuffed home his power-play game-winner.

Pabst’s goal also marked the second time this postseason he netted a game-winner. He also scored Fenwick’s lone goal in a 1-0 win over Sandburg to open state tournament play on Feb. 16.

Lisek was asked afterwards if he was at all fatigued after making 94 saves in more than eight periods of hockey over a 48-hour span.

“A little bit. I’ll take a good sleep tonight,” Lisek said. “But my energy comes back every time one of our guys blocks a shot, puts a body on the line, takes a hit, makes a great pass — anything like that. Even just having all my friends behind the glass, it all helps.”

Lisek loved what he’s seen from his teammates in the first two games of the series. 

“They were outstanding,” Lisek said. “Our first four goals tonight were beautiful — cross-ice, one-timers, and then for the last goal just to be a dirty, grimy goal, that’s what you need in overtime. That was great.

“We came hard both games so I’m expecting the same for the third.”

Fabbrini pointed out that Thursday’s win marked the first time many of his players had ever beaten Saint Ignatius, applauding players up and down his lineup.

And just as Saint Ignatius always aims to slow Fosco down, slowing down Ryan has to be a primary goal for Fenwick. Ryan scored twice in Game One but Fenwick held him in check on Thursday.

“Joe Krzak was a physical force tonight,” Fabbrini said of his senior defenseman. “It’s something we’ve been encouraging all year, to finish checks, and I think we did a great job on (Ryan) tonight. He’s a guy that doesn’t need a lot of time and space to make things happen and if you give him to much, you’re generally going to be sorry. He still got some good chances but I thought we did a great job of making things difficult for him.”

Montgomery credited Lisek for a fine performance but bemoaned that his side’s 30-plus edge in shots didn’t bear more fruit.

“But I’m proud of Nick (Fabbrini) and his group. They hung on, they fought hard, and they were resilient,” Montgomery said. “They had some urgency when we didn’t.

“It will definitely be an exciting Game Three.”

Ryan goal in 2OT gets Saint Ignatius past Fenwick

By Gary Larsen 02/28/2024, 9:15am CST

Tiernan Ryan’s goal in double overtime ended almost 75 minutes of a grueling hockey game on Tuesday, giving Saint Ignatius a 4-3 win over Fenwick in Game One of this year’s Kennedy Cup finals.

Afterwards, Fenwick coach Nick Fabbrini summed things up best.

“It’s a shame someone had to lose that game,” he said. “It was just a really great hockey game.”

Saint Ignatius matched a gutsy, determined effort by Fenwick, which saw the Friars take leads of 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2, only to see the Wolfpack score three game-tying goals to ultimately force overtime.

Fenwick was playing its heart out, and Saint Ignatius just kept meeting that challenge.

“We’ve been here before in double overtime,” Ryan said. “Some of the guys are new but we’ve also got a lot of returners here who knew what needed to happen, and we got it done. Guys definitely got ready to go in overtime and got it done. And we’ll have to be ready for them on Thursday because we know they’ll come twice as hard.”

This year’s Kennedy Cup finals features a team in Saint Ignatius that went 18-3-0 to finish atop the Chicago Catholic Hockey League regular season, against a Fenwick team that went 17-4-0 and placed second.

In the 60th season of CCHL hockey, the long history and tradition of the Kennedy Cup came through during a speech on Sunday, when Chicago Blackhawks great Chris Chelios spoke during his jersey retirement ceremony. Chelios touched on his days playing in the CCHL for Mount Carmel.

“Winning the state championship and the Kennedy Cup on the same day — that was one heck of a day,” Chelios said.

Prior to Game One of this year’s Kennedy Cup finals, Saint Ignatius coach Spencer Montgomery wanted his boys to appreciate what they’re chasing, as they pursue the program’s third-consecutive Cup title.

“Before the game we talked about the heritage of the Kennedy Cup, and Chelios talking about it, sixty years here in the city of Chicago, and why it matters,” Montgomery said.

Fenwick has won the Kennedy Cup title  10 times since 1964, the last one coming in 2007 to cap a run of five-consecutive Cup titles.

Tuesday's game was roughly seven minutes old when Fenwick’s James Papp fired from the point on the right side and Will Pabst got his stick on it to give the Friars a 1-0 lead. Saint Ignatius posted a tight, 8-7 lead in shots over Fenwick after one period.

“Saint Ignatius is a team that has given us trouble since I got here and for the last couple years,” Fabbrini said. “We haven’t had much success against them. So for us to come out with that kind of effort and push-back was great to see. We know they’re going to get their chances so we had to keep our poise and play, and I thought we did a great job of that.”

Saint Ignatius answered less than three minutes later when Michael Hollub fired from the left side and Max Meyer crashed net and buried the rebound. Ryan also assisted on the play.

Fenwick regained the lead with 11:33 remaining in the second period. Friars forward Dom Fosco took a puck across the middle in front and left it for Curtin, who buried it from the high slot. Mike Verni also assisted on the play.

Saint Ignatius again answered the bell. Ryan swooped in up the right side and fired a low shot that found its way into the net, tying the game 2-2 with 4:57 remaining before intermission. James Doherty and Francis Dunlay assisted on the goal.

“I loved our resiliency tonight,” Ryan said. “Even when we got scored on, everyone kept a positive face and kept up the positive energy.”

Twelve minutes passed in the third period when Fenwick found a goal to take its third lead of the game. The Friars’ Luke LaChance stole a puck deep in the Wolfpack’s zone and slid it over to Curtin, who had time to size things up in space before calmly depositing his second goal of the game from the high slot.

“He played great,” Fabbrini said of Curtin. “He’s one of our captains and he’s a guy that plays with his heart and soul, every game. He does a lot of different things for us and it was great to see him get rewarded.”

Fenwick was 2:33 away from victory when Montgomery called timeout and pulled goalie Brody Netzky. A mere seven seconds into the resumption of play, Steinlauf located a loose puck in front and buried it, tying the game and giving him his fourth goal in four games against Fenwick this season.

“I continue to sing Jackson Steinlauf’s praises,” Montgomery said. “He’s just difficult to play against.”

Time ticked away on regulation play, sending the game to overtime. Saint Ignatius had won 4-1, 6-2, and 4-1 against Fenwick in three regular-season games this year, but the Kennedy Cup finals are a different animal.

“I thought we came into the game a little bit too confident but give Fenwick credit,” Montgomery said. “They knew how important this game was and they scraped, and clawed, and attacked us. Their forecheck was intense and they played with urgency.  But then things turned in the second and third periods, and in overtime I thought we had the better of play. Overall, it was a sense of urgency and compete that was needed to get it done.”

A suffocating effort kept Saint Ignatius in Fenwick’s zone for much of overtime play. Ryan and his teammates were resolved to find a game-winning goal but for almost 25 minutes over two overtimes, Fenwick goalie Spencer Lisek did everything humanly possible to keep the Wolfpack from scoring.

“Spencer made some really great saves when we needed him to,” Fabbrini said.

But a steady flow of water eventually erodes even the toughest rock. The Wolfpack kept coming in the second overtime until Hollub found his second assist and Ryan got his second goal to end the game, roughly six minutes into the second overtime period.

The play started at the boards on the left side.

“Hollub had it on the wall, I cut to the middle, and he passed it right under the defender’s triangle,” said Ryan, who fired from the high slot for his second goal of the day and his fourth in four games against Fenwick. Ryan finished the regular season atop the CCHL in scoring, with 22 goals and 22 assists.

“We know teams have to be aware when (Ryan) is on the ice,” Montgomery said. “And the big guy got it done. He’s the leader of the Catholic League for a reason.”

Ryan was quick to praise his teammates.

“Hollub and Max (Meyer) played amazing,” Ryan said. “And I’ve got to give it to the D core - (Charlie) Reif, Eghan (Ryan), Jimmy (Doherty), and Hutch (Dunlay) spent a lot of time on the ice in overtime. But honestly, I’ve got to shout out everyone. Everyone knew what they needed to do, the third-line grinders were getting it done, the second line was getting chances, and the fourth line was there to pick us up.”

HIs coach echoed much of Ryan’s assessment.

“Hutch Dunlay had a fantastic game and and our captain, Charlie Reif, is just a top defenseman,” Montgomery said. “We know (Fenwick’s) Dom Fosco is a threat, all the time, and (Reif) just shuts things down. And I thought Brody (Netzky) was really good in net.”

The Wolfpack now have a chance to win the series on their home ice. Game Two of the Kennedy Cup finals will be played Thursday at Fifth Third Arena in Chicago. The puck drops at 6:40.

Fenwick needs a road win to keep its season alive, which can likely only happen if Fabbrini gets the same kind of supreme effort he got from his boys on Tuesday.

“They clearly had the better of play in overtime, but we had some chances,” Fabbrini said. “It was just a really great hockey game and we came up just a little bit short.

“I thought our two freshmen - James Papp and Christian White - playing in the Kennedy Cup finals against a really good team. They held their own. (Defenseman) Joe Krzak was excellent tonight, (Luke) LaChance was really good tonight, and John Sena is always a guy we can count on every game. But there wasn’t really anybody we were unhappy with.

“I credit our guys for bouncing back after they scored that (third) tying goal. It would have been easy at that point to kind of pack it in, and chalk it up to it not being our night. But we made it through another twenty-plus minutes of hockey before they got that winning goal. We couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Brother Rice tops Mount Carmel 4-0

By Gary Larsen 10/03/2023, 1:45pm CDT

CRESTWOOD -- The Original 4 of the Chicago Catholic Hockey League officially kicked off this year’s CCHL 60th anniversary celebration on Sunday, and Brother Rice and Fenwick got to celebrate it a tad more than St. Rita and Mount Carmel.

After Fenwick’s 5-2 win over St. Rita at the Southwest Ice Arena, Brother Rice posted a 43-16 edge in shots in downing Mount Carmel with a 4-0 shutout.

It was the first CCHL game of the season for Brother Rice, and captain Jack Keaty liked one particular aspect of his side’s play.

“Our passing,” Keaty said. “We were passing a lot more. And I like the heart so far — everybody seems to want to play. We want to go out there and not take a shift off.”

Brother Rice coach Paul Manning liked what his boys gave him.

“They moved the puck really well on the power play and made it look easy out there,” Manning said. “That’s something we really emphasize.”

Crusaders sophomore James Esposito had a hat-trick to lead the way, while brother Johnathan also netted a goal in the win. Brother Rice led 2-0 after a period and scored once in each the second and third.

A Keaty pass from the left side on the power play found James Esposito for his first goal of the night, in the game’s 7th minute. Johnathan Esposito also assisted on the play.

Keaty and Nathan Wilczak assisted on Johnathan Esposito’s goal with 2:33 remaining in the fist period, and the Crusaders were off and running.

“I definitely liked how hard we were working for sure,” James Esposito said. “I think we can talk a little bit more and have a little more puck movement but you know, I think we’ve got a good team this year.”

Not to be overlooked in the first period was the play of Brother Rice goalie Deven Stillo. With the Crusaders up 1-0, Stillo stoned a shot taken from point-blank range on a rush at the net by Mount Carmel’s Daniel O’Connor. Several of Mount Carmel’s 16 shots in the game were infinitely dangerous but Stillo answered the bell on every one.

“It was 1-0, we were on a power play, we give up a breakaway and he makes a key save,” Manning said of Stillo. “Then we were able to go down and score to make it 2-0. He definitely did his job.”

James Esposito scored his second goal with 4:13, burying a rebound shot at the net, again on a Brother Rice power play. Matthew McGuffage and Joseph Noonan assisted on the goal.

Expectations are in the eye of the beholder, and where Manning’s eye is concerned, the bar on a power play sits up high. The Crusaders had two power plays and scored twice, which is roughly what their coach wants to see.

“If you have two or three power plays, you should score two or three goals,” Manning said.

James Esposito completed his hat-trick early in the third period to finish the day’s scoring, on an assist from Jacob Surma.  Mount Carmel's Ryan Jakob and Thomoas O'Connor tested Stillo from close range with two quality scoring chances in the third period, but Stillo wouldn't budge.

James Esposito played football last year but gave it up to focus on hockey as his full-time sport. He and brother Johnathan accounted for all four of Brother Rice’s goals Sunday.

“James is a sophomore, his twin brother Johnathan is a defenseman, and they’re just very good players,”  Manning said. “James has kind of dedicated himself to hockey, and it's really apparent on his skill level and what he can do.”

Giving up football didn’t take too much thought on Esposito’s behalf.

“I love hockey more than anything,” Esposito said.

The leader of the pack at Brother Rice this year is Keaty, who assisted twice and was a prominent force on the ice throughout.

“Jack Keaty is our senior leader,” Manning said. “He was an all-star last year and he's he's a stud. He's our leader, he’s our captain, and he did a lot of good things out there tonight.

“He leads by example and that’s what we need him to do. He's out there working a hundred and ten percent. And James scored those goals but the movement on the power play starts on the back end with Keaty at the top.”

Keaty’s approach to leadership is a tried-and-true one.

“I like to get everybody on the same page and try to help us build relationships, because then we're all on the same page as a team,” he said. “Then we play more as a team on the ice and that can be the difference for us. It's really just about connections, then knowing where (teammates) are going to be on the ice, and we're just still trying to build those connections.”

With only four seniors on the team, the Crusaders have plenty to work on with a young roster. Chief among those tasks?

“I didn't hear a lot of talking today. You know, back and forth,” Manning said. “We need to communicate better. That will get better, believe me, and we emphasize it. But we're young.”

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Fenwick's PK keys 3-2 win over Marmion

By Gary Larsen
OAK PARK -- Teams around the Chicago Catholic Hockey League would be wise to beware of Fenwick’s penalty kill.

Twice in Friday’s 3-2 win over visiting Marmion, the shorthanded Friars came up big, thanks first to Cam Corvo and then to Anthony Balesteri.

All Corvo did was get Fenwick out from behind the 8-ball early in the second period. After Marmion’s Trey Howicz gave his side a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal to start the period, the Cadets quickly went on another power play and a 2-0 lead would have put momentum squarely on Marmion’s side.

Instead, Corvo intercepted a pass and swept in alone on net to score a shorthanded goal, tying the score at 1-1 little more than a minute after Howicz’s goal.

“Between Corvo and (Will) Steadman, they absolutely skate their behinds off on the PK,” Fenwick coach Nick Chiappetta said. “It’s almost like they prefer that for scoring opportunities.”

A wild and fairly evenly-played game played out in Oak Park on Friday. A penalty-plagued first two periods saw the score tied 2-2 before a cleaner third period saw Corvo score his second goal of the night for the game-winner, mid-way through the third on a feed from Steadman.

Even with the 18 combined penalties whistled in the game, Friday’s Friars-Cadets game was a doozy.

“I thought it was a really good game, overall,” Marmion coach Christian Esposito said. “It was a back-and-forth battle, a lot of intensity and good energy on both sides, and both goalies were standing on their heads, especially in the first period.”

A scoreless first period saw Fenwick senior goalie Santino Ori and Marmion sophomore goalie Charlie Donoghue weather three power plays apiece to keep their slates clean.

Howicz broke the drought at the 15:30 mark of the second period on a power-play goal, on assists from Sonny Lombardo and Michael Greco. Corvo’s unassisted goal came at 14:22 in the face of Marmion’s second power play of young period.

Junior Corvo and senior Steadman both decided to play for Fenwick this year and the Friars are enjoying clear dividends on the scoresheet thus far.

Steadman put Fenwick up 2-1 on a Demitri Karabatsos assist mid-way through the second period, but Marmion’s Nolan School tied the game with roughly four minutes remaining on a feed from Graham Robertson.

The spotlight hit Balesteri at the outset of the third period. With Marmion on the power play, he was headed in alone on net before being taken down from behind.

Marmion’s one-man advantage was thus erased to 4-on-4 play, courtesy of Balesteri’s heads-up play.

“Anthony Balesteri comes out, blocks a shot, goes in on a breakaway and a kid drops him and we’re back to even strength,” Chiappetta said. “That was a big moment from him.”

The junior Balesteri is part of a young varsity core that Fenwick senior captain Sam Chioda appreciates.

“I love it. Young guys going out there, working hard, getting a win and getting used to varsity,” Chioda said. “We have a good core of seniors and the young guys are following behind them. It’s just positive energy on the bench, getting the puck and getting their heads up and making plays. But I think they’re doing well.”

Marmion has a similarly young team.

“We’re really young, with only a few seniors,” Marmion captain Blake Powers said. “We have a lot of juniors and sophomores, and we even have five freshmen on the roster. I’m just excited to see how the team progresses as the year goes on.”

“Tonight we just struggled to play as a team. It was too much individual play. We played together in our game against Providence (a 2-0 win on Sept. 26) and that’s how we have to play to win. So I think today was just a fluke."

Both Ori and Donoghue were solid throughout and each had moments of brilliance. Ori stood particularly tall during a second period in which Fenwick committed seven penalties.

“We were outshot just about every game last year, yet we earned a spot in the playoffs and that starts with the success we've found in net,” Chiappetta said. “(Ori) is one of the elite goaltenders in the Catholic League. He put in a ton of work this off-season, his game has elevated tremendously, and we’re looking forward to seeing what he can accomplish this year.”

Esposito is also pleased with what he’s seeing from Donoghue.

“Charlie Donoghue is having a heck of a year for us so far and he’s only a sophomore,” Esposito said. “I’m excited to see him continue to grow and take this opportunity by the horns the way he has so far this season.”

Esposito has gotten solid leadership from Powers and Graham Robertson, "and Chase Breslin has brought a really good element to our team,” he said.

The Marmion skipper also had praise for an unsung Cadet.

“One of our wingers, Joey Nowicki,” Esposito said. “He gives it a hundred and ten percent, every single night. Both of the goals we scored tonight were because of plays that he started based on a forecheck and takeaway, and an opportunity for another guy. He doesn’t end up on the scoresheet every single night but he’s a difference maker for us right now.”

Chiappetta took note of a key shot-block late in the game by Fenwick’s Eddie McFadden, one of two McFadden plays that helped preserve the win late in the game.

Chiappetta liked the presence his boys brought to the ice as well.

“Physicality,” Chiappetta said. “We weren’t afraid to take hits. Now we’ve just got to do it a little bit cleaner. And peppering the net — we got outshot almost every game last year so it was nice to see that finally tilting our way.”

After last year’s COVID-plagued season, the return of fans in the stands at Fenwick’s home ice of Ridgeland Commons in Oak Park was also a welcome return to normalcy.

“The kids were all jacked up tonight. It’s been two years since we’ve had people here so it was nice to see fans for the first time in a while,” Chiappetta said.