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.