St. Thomas Academy’s Charlie Hallett had a job to do.
The Cadets senior goalie said he knew he needed to step up his play to maintain his squad’s one-goal lead over Wayzata with just 1 minute, 30 seconds left in the third period and the Trojans playing with a two-man advantage.
Hallett and St. Thomas Academy held on despite Wayzata’s 6-on-4 situation, and the Cadets came away with a 4-3 victory to remain undefeated.
St. Thomas Academy, ranked No. 4 in the Class 2A coaches poll, improved to 7-0-0 with the victory over the No. 3-2A Trojans (6-2-2).
Hallett was in a position to close out the game after St. Thomas Academy defenseman Seamus Donohue scored the game-winner during a 5-on-3 power play with just over 3 minutes to play. That’s when Hallett said he knew he needed step up his play for his team.
“(After Donohue’s goal), I said, ‘Now I have to do my job,’” Hallett said. “They’re doing their job, I have to do my job. I have to pay them back, they’re my teammates, they’re coming to battle for me, I have to battle for them.”
Hallett did come through despite getting peppered by shots late in the game, and despite a less-than-stellar performance in the first two periods.
Hallett said he didn’t want to be responsible for tarnishing the Cadets’ unblemished record.
“It wasn’t a great first or second period for me,” Hallett said. “I was kind of open for business. But (from the) third period on, I just sort of decided I was going to close up for the night. No more goals. Goalie is the most mentally taxing position in hockey, (having a short memory) takes practice, but tonight I was able to forget about the first two periods.”
Hallett stopped 12 of Wayzata’s 15 shots in the game, but let in two goals on the Trojan’s first five tries. St. Thomas Academy coach Tom Vannelli had a talk with his senior goaltender after the second period.
“I’m telling Charlie... ‘Next shot, next shot, next shift, don’t try to carry this thing yourself, just be yourself’,” Vannelli said. “Charlie is a very athletic goalie; he’s pretty hard to beat.”
Hallett has not been beaten this season. He has 3-0 record, along with a 2.45 goals-against average and an .814 save percentage.
Donohue said he knew the Cadets couldn’t relax after his goal. Both teams had been creating scoring opportunities all night, and the Trojans had another after a hooking penalty on the Cadets’ Brian Hurley gave Wayzata a 6-on-4 advantage.
It was a situation the team treated as a learning experience, Donohue said.
“We knew we still had some business to take care of in the defensive zone,” Donohue said. “It actually got a little scary at the end. It was a little nerve racking, but it was nice to get that under our belts. It’s something we'll have to be ready for as the season goes on.”
Donohue said he learned a lot about Hallett from how the Cadets goaltender handled the final minutes, too.
“We all trust him. We know he’s going to make the play,” Donohue said. “Maybe he wasn’t the best all night, but we backed him up, and he backed us up and got us out of trouble at the end.”
