COLUMBUS — St. Ignatius sophomore defenseman Greg Langermeier went around two St. Francis players and tucked a shot in off the post 37 seconds into double overtime Saturday to give the Wildcats a 5-4 win and a third straight state title.
St. Ignatius (30-9-1) started the second overtime with 1:18 of power play time carried over from the first overtime. It became a 4-on-3 power play to start the second overtime.
Langermeier picked up the puck in the neutral zone, skated around a St. Francis player at the blue line, another between the circles, and shot it off the inside of the right post and in.
It ended a thrilling back-and-forth game between the two rivals.
St. Ignatius took the early lead, but St. Francis would score the next two to take a 2-1 lead. Camden Kurtz and Bain Kurtz scored in the second period for St. Ignatius to give the Wildcats a 3-2 lead going into the third.
Hunter McKie tied the game 4:56 into the third. Less than three minutes later, Michael McCaffrey gave St. Ignatius the lead back at 4-3.
With 5:19 remaining in regulation, the Knights tied it again on a Gabe Barrow goal.
Each team took a penalty in the first eight-minute overtime period. In the waning seconds of the St. Ignatius penalty, the Wildcats got a breakaway. Matthew Barrow had no choice but to hook the Ignatius player. A penalty shot could have been awarded, but a tripping penalty was given instead.
That carried over into the second overtime, when Langermeier ended it for St. Ignatius.
Special teams decided the outcome. The teams combined for five power play goals. The only power play that was killed off was the St. Ignatius penalty in the first overtime.
The Wildcats finished 3 for 3 on the power play, needing just five shots on goal.
The game was even in more ways than just the score. Of the 72 faceoffs in the game, each team won 36. St. Ignatius blocked 9 shots while St. Francis blocked 10.
The game was part of a busy weekend at Nationwide Arena. The Columbus Blue Jackets picked up two home victories over the weekend against Colorado and Detroit. In addition to the three OHSAA hockey games, Ohio State was set to play a Big 10 semifinal Saturday against Michigan.
WWE has a pay-per-view event in the arena Sunday, before another Blue Jackets home game Monday against Montreal.
SUMMARY
March 10, 2018
@ Nationwide Arena, Columbus
41st OHSAA State Ice Hockey Championships
State Championship Game
St. Ignatius 5, St. Francis 4, double overtime
SI — 1 – 2 – 1 – 0 – 1 — 5
SF — 1 – 1 – 2 – 0 – 0 — 4
FIRST PERIOD: Scoring — 1, St. Ignatius, Aidan Millett (Greg Langermeier) 8:18. 2, St. Francis, Matthew Barrow (Jay Ostrander, Tim Organ, Jr.) (PP) 13:54. Penalties — Michael Boehm, St. Ignatius (Hooking) 13:24. SECOND PERIOD: Scoring — 3, St. Francis, Mitchell Digby (Matthew Barrow, Gabe Barrow) (PP) 3:34. 4, St. Ignatius, Camden Kurtz (Joey Trobenter) 4:58. 5, St. Ignatius, Bain Kurtz (Michael Boehm, Joey Trobenter) (PP) 13:44. Penalties — Andrew Denk, St. Ignatius (Holding) 3:26. Mitchell Digby, St. Francis (Roughing) 12:56. THIRD PERIOD: Scoring — 6, St. Francis, Hunter McKie (Nathan Shelnick) 4:56. 7, St. Ignatius, Michael McCaffrey (Greg Langermeier, Michael Boehm) 7:36. 8, St. Francis, Gabe Barrow (Nick Daly) 9:41. Penalties — Team (Too many men) 6:53. FIRST OVERTIME: Scoring — None. Penalties — Aidan Millett, St. Ignatius (Roughing) 5:18. Matthew Barrow, St. Francis (Tripping) 7:18. SECOND OVERTIME: Scoring — 9, St. Ignatius, Greg Langermeier (Unassisted) (PP) 0:37. Penalties — None.
Shots on goal: St. Ignatius 11 – 18 – 12 – 5 – 1 – 47. St. Francis 14 – 8 – 9 – 3 – 0 – 34. Power plays: St. Ignatius 3 for 3, 5 shots. St. Francis 2 for 3, 4 shots. Goalies: Benny Savarino, St. Ignatius (34 shots, 30 saves). Jacob Coward, St. Francis (47 shots, 42 saves). T: 2:30.
