Original Article

MANCHESTER — De Smet sophomore Thomas Ruder did what his coach wanted, and it paid off.

Ruder’s goal late in the second period proved to be the game-winner as the Spartans beat Vianney 5-2 in a pivotal Mid-States Club Hockey Association Challenge Cup Blue Conference game at Queeny Park on Monday night.

“Coach always said just first touch to the net when we get in the zone,” Ruder said.

Ruder’s shot from just inside the blue line went off a Vianney stick before knuckling into the net to put the Spartans up 3-2 with three minutes left in the middle frame.

“It just hit a stick and it got through somehow,” Ruder said. “I was surprised. It's great feeling though, a goal in the playoffs is a huge goal.”

De Smet (14-3-2) clinched a berth in the quarterfinals with the win. A loss would have meant a premature end to the season for the top-seeded Spartans.

“I think we learned a lot about ourselves the last couple of weeks here and into the playoffs,” De Smet coach Christopher Durso said.

Anthony Conti had a goal and two assists and Connor Clancy, Nicholas Salthouse and Tyler Loughman each had a goal and an assist for the winners. Netminder Brady Govero made 18 saves.

De Smet put the game away with two late goals in the third period. Salthouse made it 4-2 with 3 minutes, 16 seconds left and Loughman added an exclamation point with 7.9 seconds remaining.

The goals set off a lively celebration on the Spartans bench as the team needed to win its final two round robin games after dropping its playoff opener to Marquette on Friday.

“Giving up that game to Marquette was a big, big bummer, so we knew what we had to do today - and we did it,” Conti said.

Govero stood tall before the late salvo, making all nine saves in the third period including a couple tough stops during a Vianney power play.

“Once we got that lead, we knew we were going to need some big saves from him because there's going to be a push from them and he did, he met the moment,” Durso said.

Vianney (8-9-2), the defending Mid-States champion, needs help to remain alive in the tournament. If Seckman beats Kirkwood on Tuesday, the Golden Griffins will advance.

Both De Smet and Vianney entered Monday's contest 1-1 in pool play creating the win-and-in scenario to advance.

“We did not execute our game plan and we failed to disrupt theirs, so that's the result you get,” Vianney coach Brian McGlynn said. “We were kind of not playing as a team and that's just the way it goes sometimes.”

Kenny Henning had a goal and an assist and Thomas Gruener also scored for Vianney. Isaac Mejia Troop made 27 saves.

Henning gave Vianney the lead, tipping in an Evan Welker shot from the point at the 6:13 mark of the first period.

De Smet evened the game 85 seconds later as Conti buried a rebound off a James Wiley shot.

Clancy gave De Smet a 2-1 lead at 5:31 of the second period. A strong forecheck by Conti in the corner created the chance.

Gruener got the equalizer for Vianney midway through the second after John Dapron found him unmarked in the slot.

The top 12 teams in Mid-States are placed in the Challenge Cup and are equally divided into a Blue and Red Conference based on seeding. The top four teams in the two conferences advance to the quarterfinals.

De Smet doesn’t know who its opponent will be in the next round, but the Spartans know they will be the No. 1 seed. The schedule is expected to be finalized after round robin play concludes Tuesday night.

“We lost to a really good Marquette team, their goalie stood on his head the other night and then that kind of put our backs against the wall and it's good because you see how our guys can respond when the pressure’s on,” Durso said. “It's only going to get harder and harder for the rest of the way.”