The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Middies fall to talented Wildcats
They’re the top team in the state for a reason.
And Midview now has firsthand experience as to why.
St. Ignatius defeated Midview, 11-1, in a sectional final on Feb. 20 at Brooklyn’s John M. Coyne Recreation Center, turning three neutral ice turnovers in the first period into breakaway goals to quickly put things out of reach.
St. Ignatius (26-9-1) advances to face the winner of Rocky River in a district semifinal on Feb. 24 at 2 p.m.
Midview ends its season at 11-9-3.
Turnovers plagued Midview all night — some due to Middies error and some simply due to Wildcat skill — and St. Ignatius is the type of team that will make
you pay for errors.
“They’re a very good team,” Midview assistant coach Greg Urig said. “Obviously highly skilled. A very quick team. It’s tough to prepare for that playing in the Red South all year.
“But I’m really proud of the effort we had today. The fight our guys had in them ... when you’re rolling four lines against our two-and-ahalf, it’s a tough road to go.”
Urig was filling in for head coach Rick Verlotti, who was unable to make the game while attending to a family issue.
The quick start by St. Ignatius may have put the game out of reach early, but it did nothing to dampen the shine of a few bright moments for the Middies.
With 6:03 remaining in the first period, Midview senior Jeff Mullins took a pass from fellow senior Heath Naso and buried a goal to ensure there would be no shutout and make it a 3-1 game.
“I mean, it’s a good feeling when you see a shot go in against the (best) team in the state,” Mullins said. “You know they are going to go far, so it’s just a good feeling.”
Urig said that Mullins’ goal could not have come at a better time.
“I mean, awesome effort by Mullins to outrace that guy and get a shot on net,” Urig said. “It really came at a good time. It put us back in the game for a moment, but we just couldn’t keep that momentum going for the rest of the game.”
Aside from Mullins, another bright spot came from freshman goalie Braden Rapp.
Entering the game midway through the first period for junior Zach Seel, Rapp made 28 saves in his 36 minutes of action and was a big reason that the Wildcats didn’t get to the 10-goal mercy rule until there was only 2:21 to play.
“He did a very nice job coming in (off the bench),” Urig said. “We thought with his athleticism, he matched up very well with what they were doing on the ice. He played really well.
“For a freshman, it gives you a lot of hope and a lot of optimism for the future. Obviously, Seel’s coming back, too. So, hopefully we’ve got ourselves in a position to have a great one-two combo moving forward.”
Urig’s feelings were echoed by Mullins, who believes that Rapp has a strong future with the Midview program.
“As a freshman, I’m really proud of him,” Mullins said. “For his upcoming years, he’s going to go far. I can see it.”