High school hockey: Elyria Catholic's Andrew Post has hat trick to set career scoring record in win over NDCL

ELYRIA — You knew it was a big night for Elyria Catholic when the pep band made its way to North Park Recreation on Wednesday night. All eyes were on Panthers junior center Andrew Post, who entered the non-conference game against Notre Dame–Cathedral Latin two goals short of Drew Beck's school record of 146 career goals. It didn't even take 10 minutes for Post to tie the mark with goals at 9:49 and 8:43 of the first period. The record-breaker came with 6:56 left in the opening period when he went top-shelf off a Lex Grimes assist for his 147th career goal, as EC went on to grab a 7-4 victory. "I was nervous like usual before the start of the game and I was just hoping to get it out of the way as soon as possible," Post said. "I guess (the record) just means I've played a lot and I'm just going out there trying to have fun." Post sits in fourth place in the county for career goals, with Amherst's Connor Morris and his 157 career goals next in his sights. Avon's Zach Zwierecki is second with 168 goals and the county leader and second all-time in the state of Ohio is Amherst's Jacob Kramer, who had 212 goals. "That's a pretty incredible accomplishment," EC coach BJ Basinger said of Post's record. "To do that in less than three full years is a great feat for him. He's just a humble kid who just goes out there and plays hard every day." Once the excitement of the record was behind the Panthers (10-8), they still had to finish off NDCL (3-12), which got goals from Charlie Johnson and Bryce Golling in the first to only trail 3-2 going to the second 15 minutes of play. Johnson briefly made things interesting, scoring at 13:16 of the second period off a Klara Sterger assist to tie the game at 3, but Elyria Catholic took control less than a minute later by scoring three times in less than three minutes. Sophomore Charlie Grimes tipped in a JoJo Jancsura shot at 12:26 for a 4-3 lead, Preston Hemlinger scored unassisted at 10:25 and Grimes added his second goal of the period on a Jayden Brown assist for a commanding 6-3 lead. Post had several chances to add to his career totals in the second, but Lions goalie Anna Adamic stood tall, stopping 19 shots in the period and finishing with 45 saves. There was only one goal a side in the third as Charlie Grimes completed the hat trick by scoring on a Post assist 18 seconds into the period. Johnson added the final score for the Lions at 13:20. Panthers goalie Cadence Kyser, making her first varsity start, finished with 21 saves and made some big stops in the third period. "Overall, we played a pretty good game. We had a couple bad turnovers and gave up goals," Basinger said. "Cady's first start was nice, and she played well. This was a big night and we're looking to win these last two league games and get ready for the Baron Cup." Contact James Brady at 329-7135 or jbrady_ct@yahoo.com. Elyria Catholic 7, NDCL 4 FIRST PERIOD: (EC) Andrew Post (Jayden Brown, JoJo Jancsura), 9:49, (N) Charlie Johnson (unassisted), 9:12, (EC) Post (Lex Grimes, Brown), 8:43, (EC) Post (Grimes), 6:56, (N) Bryce Golling (Johnson), 0:42. PENALTIES: None. SECOND PERIOD: (N) Johnson (Klara Sterger), 13:16, (EC) C Harlie Grimes (Emma Rhymer), 12:26, (EC) Preston Hemlinger (unassisted), 10:25, (EC) C. Grimes (Brown), 9:46. PENALTIES: (N) Golling (2:00 hooking), 8:24. THIRD PERIOD: (EC) C. Grimes (Post), 14:42, (N) Johnson (Luke Miller), 13:20. PENALTIES: None. NDCL 2 1 1 — 4 Elyria Catholic 3 3 1 — 7 Shots on goal: NDCL 25 (10-5-10), Elyria Catholic 52 (17-22-13). Goalies: NDCL: Anna Adamic (52 shots, 45 saves), Elyria Catholic: Cadence Kyser (25 shots, 21 save). Power-play opportunities: NDCL 0-0, Elyria Catholic 0-1.