CHS Hockey

RECORD: 14-4-0
 Date  Visitor  Home
2/3 Fergus Falls Cathedral
1/26 Wadena-DC 2 Cathedral 13
1/24 Cathedral 7 L/D-C 2
1/21 Cathedral 8 Alexandria 1
1/17 Apollo 1 Cathedral 5
1/13 Cathedral 1 Hermantown 2
1/10 Mound-Westonka 3 Cathedral 6
1/7 Cathedral 3 Warroad 2
1/6 Cathedral 7 Crookston 3
1/3 Cathedral 1 Holy Family 4
12/22 Mora 0 Cathedral 14
12/19 Proctor 0 Cathedral 6
12/17 Sauk Rapids 0 Cathedral 6
12/15 Delano 1 Cathedral 2 (OT)
12/9 Lourdes 4 Cathedral 1
12/6 Cathedral 4 Little Falls 3
12/2 Cathedral 8 Sartell 0
11/26 Cathedral 8 Providence 2
11/25 Breck School 8 Cathedral 1

CHS beats Wadena-Deer Creek 13-2

Cathedral skaters and coaches showed plenty of class Jan. 26, focusing on team over scoresheet and scoreboard tallies. The 13-2 home victory over winless Wadena-Deer Creek, a game in which the visitors were outshot 38-8, could have been much worse for the Otters. By the second period the Crusaders were making extra passes to set up Dylan Donnay and Brandon Jameson, players who've thus far seen limited varsity ice time. Jameson responded with a goal and an assist. Donnay wowed the crowd with several dazzling tip plays and re-direct attempts before burying the biscuit 10 minutes into the third period. Teammates saluted Jameson and Donnay with cheers as the two senior forwards headed to the locker room at game's end.

Ten Crusaders scored goals. Mitch Fritz recorded a hat trick. Danny Johnston, who earned a goal and three assists, reached the 40-point mark on the season. Austin Poganski scored twice and tallied an assist. Junior Peter Spethman, who centered the third line, lit the fuse for CHS with a behind-the-net feed to Travis Gadbois to open the scoring. Josh Robak was in goal. View the RinkWriter scoresheet (PDF). View the game photos in the CHS Photocast. Photos by Andy Golebiowski and Jeff Wood.

Balanced scoring helps CHS beat L/D-C

Goals from five players helped Cathedral beat Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato 7-2 Jan. 24 in Litchfield. The Crusaders outshot the Dragons 57-22. Austin Poganski scored twice and recorded three assists.

Danny Johnson opened scoring with even-strength and powerplay goals at 16:40 and 11:10, respectively, of the first. Mitch Fritz moved the score to 3-0 on a faceoff goal from Ryan Kissner with 4:05 left in the first. A nifty Will Hammer backhander from the low slot at the 2:45 mark suggested the Crusaders would take a 4-0 lead into the locker room. But, the Dragons scored eight seconds into a one-man advantage with 2:26 remaining and then scored an even-strength goal with 1:35 left.

CHS went scoreless on a five-minute powerplay that straddled the first and second periods. Tommy Hall got the visitors going again with an even-strength goal at 7:37 of the second. Poganski followed with a powerplay goal at 4:44.

Poganski scored even-strength one-minute into the third. Connor Amundson saved 20 in goal. View the game photos in the CHS Photocast. Photos by Andy Golebiowski.

CHS crushes the Cardinals

Danny Johnston scored his 20th goal of the season to help Cathedral to a resounding 8-1 defeat of Alexandria Jan. 21 at Runestone Community Center in Alexandria. The Crusaders outshot the home team 43-8, thanks to a zone-holding blueline crew and backchecking forwards. Johnston collected an assist and two goals on the game, including a short-handed goal during the Crusaders' penalty-filled second period. Linemate Ryan Kissner scored and recorded three assists. The assist of the game was earned by senior forward Travis Gadbois, whose tic-tac-tic return pass to Sam Wood highlighted a 2-on-1 scoring play in the second. Austin Poganski scored twice, joining Johnston above the 30-point scoring threshold on the season. Josh Robak was in goal. View the Hockey Hub gamesheet. View the game photos in the CHS Hockey Photocast. Photos by Andy Golebiowski and Jeff Wood.

CHS defeats Apollo, beautifully

Cathedral overcame a slow start, wore down Apollo's aggressive checking scheme, and won 5-1 in front of the season's largest home audience Jan. 17 at the MAC. The home team executed three plays that remind us why French-speaking Canadians call hockey le beau jeu -- the beautiful game. In the first period, at the right faceoff circle, Austin Poganski drew the puck to Austin Swingle at the point. Simultaneously, Danny Johnston broke to goalie Reese Gregory's left post. Swingle feathered a pass to Johnston who slipped the puck past the post -- all in a couple eye blinks. On the penalty kill in the second, Will Hammer caught a pass in the neutral zone and steamrolled down ice in a 2-on-1 with Poganski, who sniped upper-right for a short-handed goal. In the third, senior blueliner Sam Wood led a flying Hammer with a pass on the right wing. Hammer, in stride, flicked the biscuit into the back of the Apollo net. Also beautiful was junior Beau Gerding's debut as a defenseman. Pressed into service with the injury to Dan Bailey, Gerding showed poise and skill in a variety of game situations, earning a second assist on a third-period goal by Poganski. Sophomore Poganski used his beautiful skill set to overmatch Apollo skaters throughout the game, recording two goals and two assists. Connor Amundson saved 17. View the RinkWriter scoresheet (PDF). View the game photos in the CHS Hockey Photocast.

Cathedral loses close one in H-Town

Cathedral is 0-for-4 against elite teams this season, but the 2-1 loss Jan. 13 in Hermantown revealed Cathedral is improving. The Crusaders pushed the undefeated and second-ranked Hawks to the limit, losing on an even-strength goal with less than four minutes remaining. Connor Amundson, who saved 30, kept CHS in the game during the first period when the Hawks were buzzing 'round the junior netminder. The Crusaders matched, even controlled, play for parts of the next two periods, amassing 26 shots on goal -- a stark contrast to the 7-1 loss Feb. 26 in the Sec. 5A semifinal at Hermantown. Austin Poganski set up Tommy Hall for Cathedral's goal, a powerplay tally 10 minutes into the second period.

CHS sings "Roll, Jordan, Roll"

The return from injury of Jordan Revier sparked a 6-3 defeat of Mound-Westonka Jan. 10 at the MAC. But for a disputed goal, the senior forward would have had a hat trick by the second period. Nevertheless, his two goals with linemates Ryan Kissner and Mitch Fritz helped set the tone. Fritz finished with four assists on the night. Also crucial to the victory was the play of Josh Robak. The junior netminder iced the win in the third with 19 of his 33 saves. The final frame saw Robak and his teammates battle through a long stretch of penalty killing, including a 5-on-3 situation. Also scoring for CHS were Danny Johnston (2), Kissner and Will Hammer. View the RinkWriter scoresheet (PDF). View the game photos in the CHS Hockey Photocast. Photos by Andy Golebiowski.

CHS rallies to beat Warroad

A Mitchell Fritz-to-Ryan Kissner game-winning goal and composed play down the stretch helped Cathedral defeat Warroad 3-2 Jan. 7 at The Gardens in Warroad. Trailing 2-0 midway through the second period, Austin Poganski got the jump on two Warroad players and buried a hard shot from the right circle. Then with seconds remaining in the second, Will Hammer got the puck alone in the slot. The sophomore forward took his time, scanned the net for an opening and then flicked it past the Warriors' Andy Foster. That emotional turning point bore fruit early in the third when Fritz got the puck from Dan Bailey high in the offensive zone, raced down the right side boards and lasered a crossing pass to Kissner, who slammed it home. The Warriors took 20 penalty minutes in the third as their frustration with Cathedral's team speed began to mount. Fritz capped the game with some adept puck eating behind the Crusaders' net in the waning seconds. Connor Amundson saved 20, including 11 in the first period. The Warriors managed just three third-period shots. View the game photos in the CHS Hockey Photocast.

View all the game summaries

Coaches
Eric Johnson, coach
Ron Brown, assistant
Tom Bruce, assistant
Dave Erickson, goalies
Nick Thibault, assistant
Nick Maiers, assistant

Managers
Tommy Weisbrich
Tom Baker

Blue Line Club
Scott Bailey, president
Keith Swingle, past president
Jeff Spethmann, vice president
Mary Jo Robak, treasurer
Brigid Golebiowski, secretary
Jeff Wood, website

Activities
Emmett Kennan, activities director
Julie Murphy, administrative assistant

Administration
Mike Mullin, president
Lynn Grewing, principal