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From STLhighschoolsports.com - Paul Baillargeon

Priory uses opening blitz to skate by Francis Howell

By By Ben Vessa | STLhighschoolsports.com, 02/01/20, 11:15AM CST

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BRENTWOOD — After the Harvard football team scored 16 points in the final 42 seconds to tie Yale in a college football game in 1968, the Harvard Crimson student newspaper printed the headline, “Harvard beats Yale, 29-29.”

Although it seemed inaccurate, the headline captured the feeling that the Harvard players and fans felt that day.

The Priory hockey team also experienced the jubilation of a tie Friday when Charlie Walker scored a thrilling 6-on-4 goal in the final second to tie SLUH in its opening game of pool play in the preliminary round of the Mid-States Challenge Cup playoffs.

Walker’s buzzer-beater not only snapped an eight-game losing streak to the defending Challenge Cup champion Jr. Bills, it also provided a feeling of invincibility for the Rebels heading into their meeting Saturday against Francis Howell.

Priory scored four goals in the first seven minutes, two by Logan Boatright, then withstood a furious Francis Howell comeback attempt for a 4-3 victory at Brentwood Ice Rink.

“The boys were still on an emotional roller coaster from the night before and we had a lot of good energy in the locker room, but I didn’t know we were going to start quite that fast.” Priory coach Jason Getz said.

The blitz started less than two minutes into the contest, when an innocent dump into the corner took a wild carom into the goal crease where Patrick O’Keefe located it before Francis Howell goaltender Andrew Callaway could.

“It just popped out and I said, ‘I got to bury it,’ ” O’Keefe said. “One big thing about playoffs is just a bounce, and I got one and you have to capitalize when they come.”

Less than three minutes later, Logan Boatright accepted a beautiful cross-ice pass from his brother Blake and fired a one-timer past Callaway, triggering an explosion of glee from a rambunctious Priory student section.

“The moment (Blake) saw me I knew he was getting that puck over to me somehow,” Logan Boatright said. “Ever since we were 3 (years old) we’ve been building up our chemistry and awareness of each other on the ice.”

Priory (17-3-1) had all the momentum until it took a penalty midway through the period and Francis Howell centerman Alek Nelson ripped a shot from the slot that beat Priory goalie Zachary Pechman high glove for a power-play goal that cut Priory's lead to 2-1.

Just 43 seconds later, Boatright struck again, accepting a defensive zone turnover and firing a wrister short side. Then 16 seconds after that, senior Dominic Kraus snapped a left-handed shot under the crossbar for a 4-1 Priory lead just seven minutes into the game.

“We battled back to get one, and then the next thing you know they get two more in the net,” Francis Howell coach Larry Bumb said. “But after that I felt like we took the play to them and outplayed them.”

Francis Howell (15-7-1) began to turn the tide late in the first period when Vikings forward Isaac Dill escaped shorthanded and slid a shot beneath the pads of Pechman with 30 seconds to play to close out the high-scoring period, 4-2.

Midway through the third period, Tanner Wyatt ripped a wrist shot top shelf to cut the lead to 4-3, but Pechman stoned Wyatt and Kyle Vossmeyer from in close to keep the lead.

Then, after senior Blake Boatright was assessed a two-minute minor for goaltender interference with 2 minutes 5 seconds to play, the Rebels were forced to kill off a 6-on-4 power play to end the game, the same 6-on-4 power play in which they scored the game-tying goal against SLUH one night earlier.

Priory survived a shot off the post and got four saves from Pechman, including one with just a second left to play to preserve the win.

“I was nervous out there, I was gassed,” Logan Boatright said of the final kill. “I was thinking, ‘Block every shot, don’t let anything get through,’ and luckily we kept it out of the net.”

After the win, Getz stopped near the locker room and let out a massive exhale.

“That’s what playoff hockey is all about. Francis Howell came with a good push. We weathered it somewhat, maybe not as much as we should have. We bent but we didn’t break,” Getz said.