COLUMBUS — The dream might have been deferred for a year, but that only made the celebration of capturing a coveted state championship all the more special for the St. Francis de Sales hockey team on Sunday.
The Knights earned the program's third state title with a tight and intense 2-1 victory over No. 1 ranked Lakewood St. Edward.
A year ago St. Francis also earned a trip to the state semifinals. But just days after winning a district championship, the tournament was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Senior captain Devon Homier and senior Luc Kuhr cashed in on the second chance as each scored a power-play goal. Junior goaltender Jackson Smalley made it stand up with a standout effort as he was calm, cool, and collected, finishing with 27 saves.
“This is the best moment of my life,” Homier said. “Scoring even a single point in the state tournament is a dream come true. To win it all is amazing. To be able to do this after we didn't get the chance last year, you couldn't ask for more. This is what we came here to do. It's unbelievable as a senior to do this. It seems like a dream right now.”
The No. 2 ranked Knights (28-3-2) saw a 1-0 lead canceled out early in the third period by the tenacious Eagles (26-4-1) at the OhioHealth Ice Haus. But Kuhr tallied the game-winning goal when his shot from the point deflected off the crossbar and went in the net. Kuhr's power-play goal gave St. Francis a 2-1 lead with 9:09 left in regulation.
“I had no doubt. I heard it hit the iron and I looked and saw my teammates celebrating and I knew it went in,” Kuhr said. “This is indescribable. This has been the goal all year and we went out and did it.”
St. Francis coach Chris Varga, who had guided the Knights to their last state title in 2015, led the team to state final appearances in 2017 and 2018 only to finish second.
“I've been on both sides of this. And this is so sweet,” Varga said. “Last year we won the last game of the year but we didn't win anything. Now we got our satisfaction. We got respect from the state. It's an awesome feeling because you don't ever plan for the win. You just try to make memories for the kids, and the parents and families.”
Jackson made 11 saves in the first and seven in the second before holding off a furious late push by St. Eds with nine saves in the third.
“I just had to keep it simple and stay focused and not get off my game by being out of position,” the soft-spoken netminder said. “That was absolutely indescribable. I can't even put it into words. I'm still seeing if I'm about to wake up. I don't even know if this is real or not.”
Senior Riley Box, who led the Knights in points (47) and goals (25), had two assists in the game. Box limped off with an injury early in the second. But he returned moments later and then assisted on Kuhr's winner.
“I just told my coaches that I had to just push through it,” said Box, who had a hat trick in Saturday's 7-2 state semifinal victory over Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit. “This is the greatest feeling I've ever had in my life.”
St. Francis grabbed a 1-0 lead on Homier's power-play goal just 6:49 into the game.
“It was huge. Nick Mack did what he does best. He found me across the crease and found me backdoor,” Homier said. “To put that one away and get the Knights rolling like that is unbelievable.”
Homier, who scored two goals in Saturday's semifinals, scored on a one-timer on a great cross-ice feed from Mack.
“There are no words,” Mack said. “Every day we go in the locker room and see 2011 and 2015 [title banners]. It's crazy that we're one of those numbers now, 2021. This is all for the seniors from last year. To be able to win it for them is just unbelievable.”
St. Edward tied the game at 1 just 1:41 into the third period as Jack Mansour scored after a wild scramble in front of the Knights' net.
“It's a roller coaster,” Varga said. “The biggest thing is that you need to play with the lead. And then we gave it up. We just told them to go out and get the next goal.”
And Kuhr scored what turned out to be the game-winner on a shot from the point a little more than four minutes later.
But it would take nine more nail-biting minutes for the Knights to clinch. With less than a minute remaining, Homier found himself in the face-off circle with the tall task of winning pivotal draws.
“I've never been more nervous in my life,” Homier said. “To be able to take those last couple of face-offs. They were all over us. We were laying our lives on the line out there. We did everything in our power to win it.”
Smalley came up with a great save with his shoulder with 4:08 left, had another key stop on a point-blank chance with 3:21 to go, and had made a nice stick save 1:36 into the game.
“He's been a stud all year,” Kuhr said. “He's been our rock. We couldn't have done this without him.”
The Knights' defense clogged things up in the middle with Kyle Owczarzak, Billy Dressel, Owen Denker, and Noah Egan providing good protection for Smalley in the early going.
“I didn't do it alone,” Smalley said. “The D helped me out a ton, a ridiculous amount.”
Smalley was tested early finishing with 11 saves in the first period.
“He's the best goalie in the state, by far,” Box said. “He's unstoppable and he's only a junior.”
St. Francis senior Jon Jaros, who scored two goals in the Knight's 5-2 district title win over Northview, was robbed by St Eds goalie Evan Wrightsman (13 saves) midway through the first.
The Knights went 2 of 4 on the power play and the Eagles were 0 of 2. St. Francis held a precarious 1-0 lead heading into the third.
“In the second intermission, I said, 'You seniors. Guys this is it. You guys make the history. You guys write your own fairy tale. You make your memory. Show me how you want it to end,'” Varga said.
In the previous two meetings between the teams, St. Francis had a 3-2 lead in the third period. Both times St. Eds rallied. The teams skated to a 3-3 tie on No. 28 and the Eagles won the second meeting 6-3 on Dec. 19.
“When you beat the No. 1 team in the state to become No. 1 it is sweeter,” Varga said. “All the respect in the world to St. Eds. They earned that ranking all year long. We just got one more than them today and sometimes that's all it takes.”
St. Francis was just two years removed from an 8-22-2 season.
“I don't think in all my years here that we expected to win. We just have the mentality that we're going to work harder than you and let the chips fall where they may,” Varga said. “I'm so proud of the senior kids. What a story they have for the rest of their lives. They get rings. A lot of these kids have stuck around when we were horrible. We told them if they stuck it out when they were juniors and seniors we would make a run at it.”
Varga said the team overcame many obstacles to claim a third state title.
“We struggled with COVID. We were dodging bullets. I wasn't sure how we were still playing. We made it to Columbus. We had nine o'clock curfews,” Varga said. “And when we woke up today it was, ‘Hey we're playing. No one can stop us.’
“It's pretty special. We're excited to bring it back for all of northwest Ohio hockey.”
First Published March 14, 2021, 5:03 p.m.
