AFFTON • The last time Joe O’Brien was between the pipes against the St. Louis University High hockey team, the Jr. Billikens made him wish he wasn’t.
SLUH piled up the goals on CBC’s junior goaltender and skated off with a 5-1 win.
O’Brien turned the tables Monday night. He made 22 saves and frustrated SLUH, as CBC scored a 3-1 win over its rival at the Affton Athletic Association.
“I was seeing the puck really well,” O’Brien said. “My defense was clearing the screens for me.”
CBC is now 12-1 on the season and SLUH is 8-2-1.
O’Brien, fresh off a stint in Detroit with the Jr. Blues, said coming into Monday’s rematch the plan was to score early and make it stand up. The Cadets did exactly that.
Just over two minutes into the game, CBC defenseman Ryan Croghan put the puck on net from just inside the blue line and watched it go over the SLUH goalie’s shoulder and in.
Fifteen seconds later, forward Adam Clark made it 2-0 when he raced in on a breakaway and buried a one-timer.
CBC’s Drew Croghan came up with the Cadets' third goal on a breakaway just before the end of the first period.
“They outhustled us to the puck,” SLUH coach Charles Busenhart said. “By doing that, they gave themselves some opportunities.”
Both teams left opportunities out on the ice. SLUH and CBC combined for 12 penalties, but neither scored with a man advantage.
“That’s unusual,” Busenhart said. “Both teams don’t usually commit that number of penalties.”
Even when CBC was down a man it managed to frustrate SLUH and even put some offensive pressure on the Jr. Billikens. O’Brien directed all the praise to the defensemen in front of him. But he was truly marvelous against a SLUH team that hasn’t scored less than two goals all season.
“He’s kind of our lynchpin,” CBC coach John Jost said. “He knew last time wasn’t his best game.”
SLUH got its goal from Daniel Warnecke just before the end of the second period. He now leads the team with 11 goals on the season.
These two rivals have one more regular season match between them, slated for Jan. 20 at Affton. In each of the previous two meetings, the team that lost felt like it didn’t play near its best hockey.
“It was not our best effort,” Jost said of the first game. “We have a lot of young guys, but they take a lot of pride in wearing that jersey.”
“We’re two good teams and we match up well with each other,” Busenhart said.
