Incarnate Word extended their current winning streak to 88 games after winning the Webster Groves Winter Challenge while the Mid-States Club Hockey playoffs are in full swing after a full slate of games over the weekend.
Let’s see what happened in this week’s edition of the Monday Morning Wrap-Up presented by Triad Bank.
It was not easy for Incarnate Word this past Saturday in the final of the Webster Winter Classic, but the Red Knights survived an upset bid by Vashon to title with a 72-61 victory over the Wolverines Saturday afternoon. IWA led the whole way and held a 64-45 lead with less than six minutes left in the contest before Vashon put together an 11-0 run to cut the 64-56. The Red Knights would not let the Wolverines any closer as they hit pivotal free throws down the stretch to come away with their 88 straight victory which is the longest in the nation. Natalie Potts pumped in 36 points in the win while Kaylynn Janes and Brooke Coffey each added 10 points as IWA improved to 20-0 on the season. Raychel Jones paced the Class 4 top team in the state with 18 points as the Wolverines fell to 16-5.
In a key Metro Catholic Conference battle Friday evening, De Smet remained on top of the league with a 57-47 win over St. Louis University High School on the Spartans’ home court. De Smet grabbed an early 16-10 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Jr. Bills cut the deficit to 25-24 at the break. SLUH took the lead at the end of the third quarter 36-35 before the Spartans outscored the Jr. Bills 22-11 in the final stanza to garner the victory and move to 4-1 in the conference. Owen Duff paced the De Smet attack with 16 points while Dillon Duff and Riley Massey each scored 10 points in the win.
Round-robin play in the Mid-States Club Hockey Association playoffs started over the weekend and they saw many close games with some of the top teams in both the Challenge and the Wickenheiser Cup getting through to the second round of the playoffs that will begin later this week.
In a highly anticipated early-round match-up in the Challenge Cup, SLUH and CBC played to a 2-2 draw in their round-robin contest. After a scoreless first period, The Jr. Bills cracked the scoreboard first as Logan Petlansky scored two minutes into the second period to give SLUH a 1-0 lead. Matthew Jost evened the score at the 4:38 mark as he found the net to draw the Cadets even at 1-1. In the third period, Joseph Lopiccolo gave CBC a 2-1 lead at the 3:43 mark of the period, but SLUH pulled even again at the 8:01 mark of the period as James Eisenbeis scored an even-strength goal to make the score 2-2. That is how the game ended as the defense for both clubs limited any scoring chances.
De Smet clicked their ticket to the second round as they won their first two games of the playoffs. The No. 3 seed defeated Seckman 5-0 and then went on to defeat Vianney 2-1 to move through. Kirkwood, the No. 4 seed, will also advance to the second round as the Pioneers defeated Lindbergh 5-2 and Marquette 5-3. De Smet and Kirkwood will meet up Monday at 8:15 p.m. at Queeny Park in a game that will see both teams attempting to gain a higher seed in the second round.
Over in the Wickenheiser Cup side, the top seed, Parkway West won their first match with a 4-1 win over Webster Groves but fell in their next contest to the No. 8 seed Lafayette 1-0 to force the Longhorns into a must-win contest against Monday night against John Burroughs, who is the No. 16 seed. The Lancers scored the match’s only goal against Parkway West at the 9:03 mark of the second period as Greyson Eble scored an even-strength goal to propel Lafayette to victory. Christopher Adams was outstanding in the net for the Lancers as he stopped 26 shots in the win.
No. 2 seed Summit and No. 3 seed Oakville are 1-0-1 as both head to matches early this week. The Falcons earned a hard-fought 2-2 draw against No. 7 seed Clayton before defeating the No. 15 seed, Eureka 2-1 to set up a pivotal contest against No. 10 seed Fort Zumwalt South Tuesday evening at Webster Ice Rink starting at 6:50 p.m. The Tigers opened the tournament with a 6-0 win over No. 6 seed Fort Zumwalt West before playing No. 11 seed Priory to a 2-2 draw Saturday evening. Oakville will take on No. 14 seed St. Dominic Monday at 9:05 p.m. at Meramec.
There are plenty of great basketball matchups this week as teams as getting ready for district tournament action that begins in a few weeks while the Missouri State High School Activities Association state wrestling districts will begin this coming Friday evening. It will be a light week in the pool as many of the top teams will start to prepare for the state swimming and diving championships that will take place next weekend at the St. Peters Rec Plex.
Jim Powers has been covering prep sports in the St. Louis area for 15+ years and a part of the Missouri State High School Activities Association Championship Broadcasts for the past 11 years. Powers is also a part of the Fox 2 Verlo Mattress Prep Zone Friday nights at 10:10 during the football and basketball seasons. If you have a prep sports story, please contact Jim at japowers2421@yahoo.com. Follow Jim at @hssportscaravan
