US figures out Holy Name just in time

You never want the alarm to sound off unless you’re having a nightmare.

In t he case of University on Feb. 10 against Holy Name in a Cleveland Cup quarterfinal, it was.

For large stretches, the Preppers were in the midst of a nightmare — being chased around by a Green Wave. Fortunately for US, the wakeup call arrived just in time.

Ryan G or bet ts co red twice, including a key shorthanded tally in the third period, as the Prep per sovercameun characteristic doldrums for a 5-2 win at Iceland USA in Strongsville.

Ironically, as the weather worsened outside to whiteout conditions, things got much brighter i nside for US (20-10-2) as it secured a spot in a Cleveland Cup semifinal Feb. 12 against St. Edward, a 4- 0 winner over Lake Catholic in the early game of the twinbill.

“You need to give credit to Holy Name, the way they came out and played,” Preppers coach Andre Lacroix said. “But I told the guys after the game, I said, ‘Guys, listen. Nothing to lose. They have nothing to lose.’ So they’re loose. And I said, ‘If you come in with the attitude that you’re playing Holy Name — every game, you need to come to the game thinking you’re playing St. Ignatius.’

“Every game needs to be a championship game. That way, you know you’re going to play your best.”

In the third, the bell finally went off in that sense.

Holy Name (5-22-4), which had lost three times to US in the regular season by a combined score of 21- 4, crept within 3-2 at the 1-minute, 53-second mark of the third, when Sean Bauchens slotted a slapshot from the perimeter on a power play.

Just 44 seconds l at er, the Preppers were assessed a five-minute major for boarding. It changed the game — but not in the way it would be assumed.

US put on a penalty-kill clinic. At 3:35, Preppers junior J.D. Clemens hit Gorbett on the edge of the neutral zone with a picture-perfect breakout. The senior skated in and put away a wrister short side for his 24th goal of the winter and a 4-2 advantage.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Preppers were able to improve to 7- 0 against Holy Name all-time with a welltimed wakeup call.

“I went out to forecheck, and they dumped it back in,” Gorbett said of the sequence leading to his key tally. “I saw J.D. get the puck real quick, and I noticed that their ‘D’ was stepping up, so I decided to stay back a little bit and not get back on the play. J.D. found me with a nice seam pass, and I just came in and shot it bottom left.

“I think we came out under estimating them after the past couple of weeks. But I think it’s playoff hockey now— February hockey—so we’ve got to come out to play ever y game. We didn’t do that tonight until halfway through the second and third.”