By Dylan Butler
Will the real Holy Cross hockey team please stand up.
That is at least the plea from Knights head coach Mike Mitchell. Less than 24 hours after “stinking the building out,” according to Mitchell, in a 6-3 loss to Cardinal Spellman, Holy Cross responded with a dominating performance in an 8-1 rout of St. Raymond’s Saturday at the Ice Hutch in Mount Vernon.
“It seems we’re a Jekyll and Hyde team,” Mitchell said. “If we play the remaining 10 games the way we played Saturday, I can’t see anyone in our division beating us.”
Holy Cross came out on fire against St. Raymond’s, outshooting the Ravens 46-8 after two periods as the Knights jumped ahead 7-1. Senior forward Mike Vohs scored the lone goal of the third period — his second of the game — on an assist from junior forward Bryan Benini to cap the scoring. Benini also had a hat trick, sophomore Joe Temperini added a pair of goals and junior Ryan Morgan also found the back of the net.
Senior John Vitale scored the lone goal for St. Raymond’s in the final minute of the first period.
While Holy Cross only had two penalties in the rout of St. Ray’s, it was a far cry from the penalty-fest in the Knights 6-3 loss Friday at the Ice Hutch.
“The only think on our minds was, ‘how fast can I get into the penalty box,’” said Mitchell, whose team amassed 14 minutes of penalties.
Vohs had a goal and an assist, junior Eric Mistretta had a goal and Temperini also scored for Holy Cross in the loss.
Senior Frank DiPasquale had three goals and three assists to lead Cardinal Spellman. Christian Tronconi added a pair of goals and James Harnett also scored for the Falcons.
Next up for Holy Cross is a rematch with Monsignor McClancy Friday at Abe Stark Arena on Coney Island. The Knights defeated the Crusaders 6-2 on Nov. 23. The puck drops at 8:15 p.m.
Christ the King captures tournament crown. After rallying from a 2-0 deficit to tie St. Edmund last Thursday at Murray Rink, the Royals hit the road to play in the Prince William Hockey Club Holiday Tournament in Dale City, Va.
Christ the King left Dale City with the tournament crown after defeating Archbishop Ryan 4-1 Sunday morning. Senior Bobby Glade broke a scoreless tie with a third period goal. After Archbishop Ryan tied the game, sophomore Pat Williams scored the go-ahead goal for CK with eight minutes left in the third period. Sophomore Johnny Del Rios, who was the Royals MVP, and sophomore Chris Keegan also added third period tallies.
Christ the King opened round-robin play with a 5-1 win over Archbishop Ryan Friday. The Royals then tied Prince William ‘A’ 3-3 Saturday morning and beat Prince William ‘B’ 8-0 later that day.
Xaverian 6, Molloy 2. Thanks to goals by Andy Anastasio and Sean Kearney, the Stanners led 2-1 late in the second period, but Xaverian responded with five unanswered goals — including four in the third period — to cruise to victory Saturday at the Ice Hutch. Richard Mistretta and Nick Manfredini scored two goals apiece, Michael Scardati had a pair of assists and Steve Finley and Brian Croke each scored a goal to lead the Clippers. Molloy, who returns to the ice Friday against St. Edmund at Abe Stark Arena, fell to 1-3-1.
St. Francis Prep 5, St. Joseph by the Sea 4. Dan McCloskey’s goal with 23 seconds left in the third period broke a 4-4 tie to clinch the win for St. Francis Prep Friday at the Ice Hutch. Kevin McMenamin, Earl Ingram and James Bertorelli each scored a goal and John Leistman had a pair of assists for the Terriers, who take on rival Christ the King Thursday at Murray Rink in Yonkers before facing Kellenberg Friday at Newbridge Rink.
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 143.
