High school hockey: Elyria Catholic caps successful weekend with win over Normandy

PARMA — What a weekend for Elyria Catholic. After a victory over CVCA on Friday to open the Normandy Thanksgiving tournament, the Panthers beat Kent Roosevelt on Saturday and capped off a dominating run by shutting out host Normandy 6-0 in the title game at the Michael A. Ries Ice Arena on Sunday night. The tournament championship is the first for EC during the regular season in five years. "Dom (goalie Dominic Morris) and our defense played at a really high level this weekend," Panthers coach BJ Basinger said. "We really put it to all three teams this weekend (averaging over 50 shots per game). We're getting more scoring from six or seven different guys now." That trend continued against the Invaders (8-2) with five players scoring. Freshman Zachary Basinger got things going quickly against Normandy goalie Leo Fensel, chipping in the second shot of the game off a JoJo Jancsura assists just 33 seconds into the first period. Fensel didn't get beat again in the first period, with 18 of his 50 saves thwarting several chances for EC. Elyria Catholic, 6-1, and winners of five straight, kept up the offensive pressure in the second period and it paid off with a pair of scores. Josh Anastasiadis scored at 13:27 off a Brendan Cleary assist and senior captain Jayden Brown put EC up 3-0 with 2:56 left in the period clock off a Charlie Grimes assist. "Even though we won that first game (CVCA), we didn't feel good about the way we played and wanted to do better," said Brown, who had the game-winning goal against the Royals in the closing seconds. "I think we just picked up everything after that first game and played well, especially tonight." The Panthers opened the third period with a 5-on-3 power-play, but that was the one facet of the game that didn't go well, as EC went 0-for-6 with a man advantage. After the power-play ended, freshman Luke Shebak scored off assists from Brown and Jancura to put the Panthers in front 4-0 with 11:27 left. The final two goals of the night came less than three minutes apart, when Grimes scored of a Brown assist and then finished up with an unassisted score on a breakaway that left a Normandy defender sprawled on the ice. "We got tested in that first game (against CVCA), but in the end the score sheets say we outscored everyone 16-1 this weekend," said Grimes, who had six goals over the weekend. "This was a great weekend for us, and it feels good to be able to come away with the championship." Contact James Brady at 329-7135 or jbrady_ct@yahoo.com. Elyria Catholic 6, Normandy 0 FIRST PERIOD: (EC) Zachary Basinger (JoJo Jancsura), 14:27. PENALTIES: (N) Tyler Smentanka (2:00 hooking), (EC) Landon Bean (2:00 interference), 7:25, (N) Shane Triscari (2:00 roughing). SECOND PERIOD: (EC) Josh Anastasiadis (Brenden Cleary), 13:27, (EC) Jayden Brown (Charlie Grimes), 2:56. PENALTIES: (N) Triscari (2:00 unsportsmanlike), 10:19, (N) Colton Adams (2:00 head contact), 1:29. THIRD PERIOD: (EC) Luke Shaebak (Grimes, Jancsura), 11:27, (EC) Grimes (Brown), 7:16, (EC) Grimes (unassisted), 4:40. PENALTIES: (N) Ryan Zabierowski (2:00 tripping), (N) Justin Sakeagak (2:00 cross-check), 10:20, (EC) Anastasiadis (2:00 unsportsmanlike), 2:03. Elyria Catholic 1 2 3 - 6 Normandy 0 0 0 - 0 Shots on goal: Elyria Catholic 56 (19-16-21), Normandy 12 (4-3-5). Goalies: Elyria Catholic: Dominic Morris (12 shots, 12 saves), Normandy: Leo Fensel (56 shots, 50 saves). Power-play opportunities: Elyria Catholic 0-6, Normandy 0-2.