The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Cardinals stun Lancers, 3-2
Late goal, big performance from goalie propel Cardinals into Kent District semifinal
KENT » Tempting as it may be to classify a Red Division squad stunning an upper-half Great Lakes Hockey League counterpart as a “miracle on ice,” that is likely doing a disservice to what transpired Feb. 21 in a Kent District quarterfinal.
Mentor believed it could pull off an upset over Cleveland Cup champion and No. 2 seed Gilmour.
All it took was the goods to back it up, and the Cardinals got those when it mattered most — actually, more than goods. They got something great.
Kyle Backston slotted a onetimer with 2 minutes, 46 seconds left, and Jake Tackett turned in perhaps the best performance of his career between the pipes in a 34-save evening as Mentor stunned Gilmour, 3-2.
“I can’t say enough to the way the kids battled tonight,” a visibly emotional Cardinals coach Paul McKito said. “We told them pregame that this could be our last 45 minutes of hockey this year. We didn’t want it to be.
“They sold out. Their effort level was tantamount tonight — blocking shots, finding ways to get sticks on pucks, chipping pucks out of the zone. Everything we asked them to do all year long, they just battled on the defensive side of the puck tonight and gave one heck of an effort.”
Tackett recorded 14 saves in a brilliant third period to keep the Lancers off the board, including on a man advantage in the final minute.
“Tackett was standing on his head — made some very, very huge saves, especially on the power play late,” McKito said. “In the extraman situation where they pull the goalie, you knew it was coming. We just asked the kids to play the last two minutes with everything they’ve got.”
Backston’s tally helped steer it toward the winner’s circle. On the power play courtesy of an interference penalty, Backston gathered the puck between the circles and fired a onetimer high.
“I saw the puck pop out, and I saw the puck in the net,” the sophomore said with a smile. “They weren’t pressuring me a lot, so I felt I had time to really take a one-timer. And I usually don’t have a lot of time.”
Mentor (22-9-1), in its first win over Gilmour (268-3) since Feb. 1, 2005, had more time than it likely preferred
to salt away the win, especially when it had to turn to its penalty kill late after a too-many-men-onthe-ice penalty.
“It felt like forever,” Tackett said. “That’s for sure.”
But Tackett stood tall, making four saves in the waning seconds to preserve the win and start an argument with the Cardinals’ 2008 stunner of University for biggest Kent District win in program history.
“I think when we keep the puck out of the middle, and get pucks out that should get out and play clean defensively, we can really hold any team to very few goals,” Tackett said. “And when we pop a few in, we have a pretty good chance to win.”
Mentor opened its account at 3:10 of the first. Alec Weaver skated into the left side of his zone and patiently waited to hit Luke Jeffery crashing, which he
did nicely at the right bar and Jeffery slotted a wrister gloveside.
Gilmour responded 44 seconds later, when Preston Watkiss threw a puck on net from just beyond the blue line on the right side to tie it at 1-1.
The Cardinals took a 2-1 lead into intermission. On the man advantage after an interference penalty, Marco Toth put away a wrister in traffic at 6:41.
The Lancers grabbed an equalizer late in the second period. After a Mentor hooking penalty, Gilmour was on the power play. During a scramble in front, John Treppo got his stick down at the right bar. A bang-bang whistle came during the sequence, but officials conferred and the goal stood.
The Lancers outshot the Cardinals, 24-5, in the final two periods, but couldn’t solve Tackett for a decisive
goal in the third.
“That’s an upset in the making,” Gilmour coach John Malloy said. “It’s the classic way you’re going to lose is just how we lost, with some timely goal scoring on their part and good goaltending at the other end.
“I give them all the credit. It was a heck of a game. I’m proud of my guys. We had a great year, and you can’t take anything away from it. There was always the feeling that if we were going to lose the game, that’s how we were going to lose.”
Mentor executed that plan, and now comes fairly rare air for the program — the final four at Kent — three years removed from going 6-27-1 when Tackett was a freshman.
“We knew we could win,” Tackett said. “We have beaten good teams this year. We knew if we played how we could, things would work out.”