Cardinals Epic Comeback Against Titans, Led by Erica Piotrowski
By Larry Moko
Team captain Erica Piotrowski of the St. John Henry Newman Cardinals is a senior high school hockey player making up for lost time.
“I tore my ACL (knee ligament) last season and wasn’t able to play,” the Grade 12 centre said. “And I didn’t play in Grade 9, either, because of COVID. So this is my second year.”
Piotrowski scored two goals and added an assist Monday to help the Cardinals defeat the third-place Bishop Tonnos Titans, 5-4, at Gateway Arena.
That result evened Newman’s Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic girls’ league record at 4-4-1, while Tonnos slipped to 5-4.
“This was a big win,” Piotrowski said. “We needed it. We lost against them last time when we were missing a few people.”
Piotrowski and her linemates Gabby Salciccoli and Lizzy Sestric combined for eight points in the rematch.
“We worked well together,” Piotrowski said, “and we were able to play good defence, too, against their top line.”
Piotrowski and Tonnos’ captain, Clea Hastings, are both members of the Stoney Creek Sabres U-22 organization.
“Erica is everything you would want in a captain,” Newman coach Matt Pritchard said. “She’s a great hockey player and a great person in general … very respectful.”
Other Newman goals were scored by defenceman Lily Farago and Jessica Krakar.
Tonnos replied with markers by Karsyn McManus, Hastings, Kajsa Van Der Meer and Emmy Beatty.
The teams were tied 2-2 at the end of the first period before Newman pulled away with three unanswered second-period goals. Then, in the third, the Titans applied the pressure to cut into the margin.
“Our goalie, Nikki Staley, had a solid game,” Pritchard said. “Even though they scored four goals today they had a ton of shots. She’s a really good goalie.”
When the Titans faced the Cardinals on Dec. 13, Tonnos won handily, 7-3. Said Hastings: “I just feel that when we got shots last time we crashed the net with our sticks down. Today, we had trouble scoring. Their goalie played really well and kept them in it.”
Van Der Meer’s third-period goal came with seven minutes, 48 seconds remaining, and Beatty capped the scoring with 2:35 left.
“It’s been kind of an up and down season for us,” the Newman coach said. “We started out OK and then went into a bit of a slump.
“The last couple of games we’ve been playing our game. BT is one of the top teams in the league and we took them down. Hopefully, we can keep that going.”
In other action Monday, the first-place St. Thomas More Knights remained undefeated (8-0-1) with a 4-1 decision over the St. Mary Crusaders (2-7). The second-place Bishop Ryan Celtics improved their record to 6-1-2 by blanking the winless St. Jean de Brebeuf Braves, 7-0.
Each team has one game remaining before quarter-final playoffs begin Monday, Feb. 12. The top two finishers receive a first-round bye.
Photos by Bob Butrym, RFB Sport Photography
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