Schwanke’s OT goal lifts St. Paul’s to a second straight MIAA B ice hockey championship

by Nelson Coffin

Beating a respected rival three times by a single goal in the same season is a difficult assignment, especially when the third time is in a championship setting.

Top-seeded St. Paul’s proved to be up to that challenge in the B Conference ice hockey final on Thursday at Piney Orchard Ice Arena in Odenton, rallying past Saints Peter & Paul, 2-1, on freshman Gunnar Schwanke’s clutch goal with less than a minute remaining in overtime.

Schwanke said that he received a pass from junior defenseman Andrew Breslin before he took off to earn his 22nd goal of the season and the Crusaders’ second consecutive crown.

“He gave me a nice pass, I entered the zone, took a shot — and it went in,” he said, noting he sent the puck into the top left portion of the net.

The Crusaders (11-1, 9-1 B Conference) were in a position to win only because sophomore forward Bailey Begg finished a breakaway with two minutes, 57 seconds left  in regulation to finally solve stingy sophomore goalie Jackson Jancosko.

“(Schwanke) has scored a lot of goals for us this season,” said St. Paul’s coach Sean Baker, who also praised Begg for having “incredible skills and for being in the right place at the right time.” 

The Sabres (17-4, 7-2) had jumped out on top midway through the middle period on sophomore Mason Roland’s wicked wrist shot that sizzled past sophomore goalie Andrew Dugas, whose shoulder save on senior Andrew Watson’s rocket and two more strong stops of Roland kept St. Paul’s within striking distance.

Dugas sparkled in the net this season, allowing just eight goals in as many games while posting an impressive .962 save percentage.

St. Paul’s came close to earning a deadlock early in the third period when Jancosko blocked Watson’s shot and a Sabre defender sprawled on the ice to clear the puck before it crossed the goal line.

After a crucial penalty kill by the Crusaders, Begg controlled a loose puck, took off toward the Sabre goal and rifled a shot past Jancosko.

The most notable penalty kill came in the opening minutes of the game when Saints Peter & Paul snuffed St. Paul’s during a five-minute major that included a player being ejected

Even so, the second-seeded Sabres were unable to get over the hump against a team that scored 1-0 and 3-2 victories over them during the regular season.

“They’re a very good team,” Schwanke said. “They’re very competitive and I love the way they play. Our guys just wanted it more today and we love playing together.”

Baker, who has guided the Crusaders to three titles in a six-year tenure, was also impressed with the Eastern Shore squad.

“I give their coaches and players a ton of credit,” he said. “We’re evenly matched and they’re just so hard to play against. But we did what we do well today, and that’s being relentless and getting the puck into  their zone as often as we can — and we were rewarded for our work in the end today.”

Baker added that his defense and goalie had to be stout, especially in the early stages of the showdown.

“They had a lot of pressure in the first half of the game,” he continued. “I thought our goaltender played amazing and made the big saves he needed to make. And we did a good job of limiting second chances with our defense.”