Vikes at Season Opener. (Courtesy/Carrie Gwin)
For years, having an ice hockey team at CA was a dream. On Saturday, November 19, 2017, that dream finally came true.
The Vikings opened their first season with a showdown against the Dublin Scioto Irish at Chiller Ice Works. The Irish are a similar program, as both schools have only a Junior Varsity team. Realizing it was going to be a dogfight, the leaders for CA led the way.
Junior co-captains Cole Walker and Gunnar Geiger set the game’s tone in its opening minutes, keeping the puck in Scioto’s defensive zone.
Walker skated past defenders with ease and threw the puck on net, in hopes of a lucky redirect. If the Irish retained possession from a shot, the Vikings swarmed their opponents and tried to repeat the process.
Geiger held down his defensive zone, making sure no Irish player would have any chance of scoring.
While the first period ended in a scoreless tie, the Vikes had earned many quality chances, leading in the “shots” category: 13-8.
Aiding CA was an outstanding performance from freshman goaltender Max Crane, who made every save possible through all three periods and who showed no lack of inexperience between the pipes.
In the second period, the scoring floodgates finally opened. The long-awaited first goal of the game came in the beginning of the second for the Irish as Dakota Marshall buried a slapshot from the blueline. The Irish put another one on the scoreboard with a lucky tip-in just a few minutes later, making it 2-0. The Scioto fans were roaring, while the CA faithful were dead silent.
But late in the second period, the Vikes swung back. Walker stole the puck from a Scioto defender and had no one but the goalie to beat. As he timed up his shot, a seemingly frustrated Irish defenseman launched his stick at Walker. This resulted in a rare penalty shot.
Walker waited at center ice for the referee to drop the puck and blow his whistle. Everyone in the crowd was in sileny. The referee blew his whistle, and Walker took a deep breath before making his way down to the goal. He glided to the far-side of the ice and slowly filled with confidence. As he reached the net, Walker made his move. The center quickly switched the puck to his backhand and flicked it into the back of the net.
The Academy crowd exploded. Fittingly, it was one of the players that was instrumental in the team’s creation that had scored the first goal in program history.
Walker wasn’t done there though. Seconds later, he poke-checked an Irish defender broke free. This time, Walker sniped the top corner, tying the game at 2 heading into the third period.
The Irish, unhappy that their lead had slipped away, were chippy to begin the third period. After Crane made a save, a Scioto player came into the crease and shoved him. The Vikings backed up their teammate, and a scuffle ensued.
The fight resulted in multiple penalties for the Vikings and which proved as devastating. For the majority of the third period, the Vikes were forced to play with a man down. The Irish deftly took advantage of the advantage and put up three goals in quick succession. Academy couldn’t overcome the spurt of goals, and the Irish took the victory, 5-2.
Despite the loss, the Vikes were ecstatic at the opportunity to play in front of many of their classmates, teachers, and parents. The Vikings held their ground with one of the top teams in the state, and showed that despite being in the program’s first year, they are an extremely talented team.
The Vikes will face St. Xavier in their home opener at Chiller Easton on Sunday, December 3.
