SOUTH COUNTY — CBC sophomore goalie Gavin Arnold didn’t have much notice that he was making an emergency start Thursday night.
“I didn't find out until about like 4:30,” Arnold said after finding out CBC starter Richard Struckhoff was sick. “So, I mean, I had to kind of get my mind in it. I had an early dinner. I came here and just went out and performed.”
Arnold was up to the challenge, stopping all nine shots he faced to help CBC notch a 6-0 win over Parkway South in a Pool A game in the Mid States Club Hockey Association Challenge Cup round robin playoffs at Kennedy ice rink.
“What we told him before the game was you've been outstanding the times we've used you,” CBC coach John Jost said. “You've been outstanding at the JV level. You've been outstanding at practice. You're going to have a hardworking team in front of you. There's no reason why you won't have an outstanding night and he did.”
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Jace Jordan, Karson Price and Joseph Lopiccolo each had a goal and an assist and Gavin McGrath, Matthew Jost and Tyler Laskowski also scored for CBC (18-1-4 overall, 2-0-1 in the playoffs).
Chase Hovan made 25 saves for Parkway South (10-10-3, 0-3).
CBC outshot Parkway South 11-2 in the first period, but Hovan made several tough saves including one on a Cadets 2-on-1 rush midway through the frame to keep the game scoreless.
McGrath got CBC on the board at 4:05 of the second period with a sneaky wrister from the left circle.
Jordan gave the Cadets a 2-0 lead at 11:15 of the second, scoring off a Price feed.
CBC sophomore goaltender Gavin Arnold made nine saves Thursday during a 6-0 victory against Parkway South in a Mid States Club Hockey Association Challenge Cup Pool A round robin playoff game at Kennedy Recreation Center Ice Rink in St. Louis County. Rick Ulreich, Special to STLhighschoolsports.com
Arnold came up big in the middle frame, robbing Jamison Gifford on a point-blank chance early and getting his pad to stop Connor Stiefer on a breakaway five minutes later.
“I just came out and challenged,” Arnold said of the breakaway save. “That's pretty much it. I felt pretty confident.”
Arnold played just one game for varsity in the regular season, which was also a shutout in a five-save performance against Westminster on December 7. He didn’t face many shots in either shutout, but that is a challenge mentally in itself for a goalie.
“You kind of just got to keep your mind in it,” Arnold said. “Sometimes it gets difficult. Sometimes your mind like gets out of the zone. You just got to find a way to get back in it.”
Price made it 3-0 CBC at 1:56 of the third, ringing a shot off the post and in after a Jordan pass sent him on the rush. The line of Price, Jordan and Brayden McDonald totaled five points against the Patriots.
“That's actually a new line,” Price said. “I've been playing with Jace the past couple of weeks and I really liked playing with him. We move the puck well. We get the puck to the net. But Brayden McDonald has joined our line and we're working great with him too.”
Matthew Jost added to the lead at 4:04 with his team-leading 17th goal of the season, but first in the playoffs. Lopiccolo added another at 6:42 and Laskowski capped the scoring at 11:15.
“A good team and they played us tough,” Matthew Jost said. “I think the key was using our speed and getting out on transition. I think we scored a lot of goals in transition today. That was huge for us.”
Playoff picture
CBC’s victory sets up a possible win or go home scenario in its final pool play game against St. Louis U. High on February 20 at Queeny Ice Rink. If there are no other upsets in pool play, the Cadets would move on to the semifinals with a win or a tie against the Jr. Billikens.
The teams split two regular season meetings, with SLUH winning 5-4 on November 18 and CBC winning 2-1 on January 26.
“We've got a long break,” John Jost said. “I liked the way we played tonight. I wish we're playing a little bit sooner, but that's just the way it is. So, I think we have to have the exact same approach. I think we've got to be proactive on our forecheck, got to use our depth and we got to stay out of the box against SLUH because, you know, they'll get you on their power play.”
Finishing strong
Parkway South can play spoiler to Vianney in its final game of the season on Monday at Centene Community Ice Center.
Vianney, the No. 7 overall seed, advances to the semifinals with a win against the Patriots.
