Blake Carey scored four goals to lead the University School boys’ hockey team to a 9-1 victory over St. Paul Academy of St. Paul, Minnesota on Monday, December 31st in the semi-finals of the Bronze Division of the Schwan Cup Tournament at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine, Minnesota.
The Wildcats scored five of their nine goals while on the power play, taking advantage of the 10 rule infractions that the Spartans committed.
USM out shot SPA 43-17 in the non-conference contest. Ethan Mann, Robby Newton, Carson Mogush, Tyler Herzberg, and Reid Woods joined Carey in scoring goals during the rout.
After the game Carey said, “It was a special moment for me. Scoring four goals in a game isn’t something you experience regularly. It was a great feeling personally but the win made it even more enjoyable. I have to give the credit to my line mates, Tyler and Robby, for distributing the puck to give me those opportunities. There is no way I could have those chances without them. They are great players and tonight only exemplified that. It was something that I’ll never forget. Purely a special moment.”
It didn’t take long for USM to get things going. Carey scored the Wildcats’ first goal at the end of a power play just 3:17 into the first period. He batted a rebound off a point shot by defenseman Casey Roepke past the Spartans’ goalie, Thomas Kuriscak. Robby Newton also had an assist on the play.
The Wildcats scored on another power play opportunity less than two minutes later. Herzberg got the puck in the left corner of the SPA zone and skated toward the net. He fired a shot. The rebound careened to Mann in the right circle. Mann lined a high shot into the net as Kuriscak desperately leaped across the crease at 5:02.
Carey tallied his second goal at 12:22 of the first period. USM was short-handed at the time, but that didn’t matter to the Wildcats. On the play, Newton sped to a cleared puck in center ice. He skated into the Spartans’ end and saw Carey speeding down the slot like a locomotive on full steam. Newton passed the puck to Carey, and Carey finished the play, giving USM a 3-0 lead.
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The Wildcats made it 4-0 while skating four-on-four just over a minute later. Mann took a face off in the Spartans’ right circle and drew it back to Herzberg. In turn, Herzberg passed it to Roepke at the center of the blue line. Roepke moved it to Newton at the top of the right circle. Newton one-timed a slapper past Kuriscak at 13:24.
The four goals in the first period were not enough for the Milwaukeeans. They were hungry and scored four more times in the second period.
Mogush scored USM’s fifth goal on a power play. He collected a loose puck on the right boards in the SPA end and skated toward the net. A defenseman knocked the puck from his stick into the right corner. Newton dashed to it and passed it back out front to Mogush who had continued to the crease. Mogush batted the puck into the net at 3:48.
Another power play yielded another goal for USM at 5:17. Herzberg collected the puck in center ice and headed into the Spartan zone on a two-on-two with Newton. Herzberg looked at Newton, but through his peripheral vision saw Carey trailing the play. Herzberg passed it out to Carey in the high slot. Carey immediately shot and gained his hat trick while giving USM a commanding six-goal lead.
Carey scored his fourth goal a few minutes later. Herzberg snared a loose puck in the Spartans’ zone and skated into the right corner. He bided his time, watching. He saw Carey at the blue line and passed the puck there. Carey fired and made it 7-0, USM, at 8:03.
Soon thereafter, the Wildcats used another power play to make it 8-0. Newton pulled the puck from a scrum along the right boards in center ice. He moved into the Spartans’ zone. As a defenseman checked him, he slid the puck to the middle to Herzberg. Like the cavalry on a mission, Herzberg charged into the low slot and fired a shot past a beleaguered Kuriscak at 9:34.
The Spartans also used a power play to score their lone goal in the final minutes of the second period. Adam Zukowski had the puck in the USM left corner. He zinged a cross-ice pass to Michael Bagnoli in the right circle. Bagnoli then passed the puck to Duncan Fleming at the far post. Fleming shoveled the puck past Frank Fee, USM’s goaltender, at 15:47.
The Wildcats completed their scoring with a final power play goal at 7:07 of the third period. Woods scored it with assists from Mann and Noah Eghbali.
USM heads to the championship game of the tournament with a 10-1 record. The Wildcats play Totino Grace of Fridley, Minnesota in that championship confrontation. The non-conference game is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 1st at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine, Minnesota.
