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Cretin-Derham Hall edges East Ridge

By Michael Murakami, Hockey Hub staff, 02/24/11, 11:15PM CST

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Section 3AA Quarterfinal Game: Led by Kinne's hat trick, Raiders handle Raptors


Cretin-Derham Hall's Tony Barbato (No. 17) had the best seat in the house as he watched senior forward Bob Kinne (No. 16) sneak a first period goal past East Ridge goaltender Andrew McDonough (No. 35) during the Thursday, Feb. 24, game. Photo by Adam Cran

After splitting the regular season matchups, Cretin-Derham Hall won the rubber match in the Section 3AA quarterfinals over East Ridge, 4-1, on Thursday, Feb. 24.

In the combined three games between the two teams, the Raiders have scored 13 goals against the Raptors.

Five of them have been by senior forward Bob Kinne – and three of those five goals came during the Feb. 24, playoff matchup.

“Bob  got us a couple early ones,” Cretin-Derham Hall coach Jim O’Neill said. “He’s got great speed and he gets his chances every game. It’s good to see him come through and put them in.”

Kinne knew how important it was to find the net early in the game.

“It was big,” Kinne said. “We got off to a big start and keep our energy up which kept us in the game.”


Cretin-Derham Hall senior forward Bob Kinne (left) sneaks a first period goal past East Ridge goaltender Andrew McDonough during the Thursday, Feb. 24, game. Photo by Adam Crane

The co-captain notched his second hat trick of the year advancing the No. 3 Raiders in the Section 3AA playoffs.

Already up 1-0, the Raiders found themselves on the penalty kill in the final minutes of the first period. A shorthanded goal with 1:11 in the period by Kinne would end up standing as the game winner.

“I got a saucer pass from Tony (Barbato) and I didn’t see him at the end – he was coming hot next to me – but I somehow put it in five-hole,” Kinne said. “Just a lot of good passes from the linemates, good cycles down low and luckily happened to be in the slot most of the game tonight.”

Six different Cretin-Derham Hall skaters registered an assist during the game with five of those assists coming on Kinne’s goals.

“That’s the guys we’re counting on,” O’Neill said. “Other guys chipped in a little bit but we need those guys to score for us – Bob (Kinne), Tony (Barbato) and Colin (O’Brien) – and they came through.”

Up next for the Raiders is a tough semifinal matchup against the No. 2 seed – Apple Valley.

“We’re feeling good,” O’Neill said. “We’re excited about the challenge of moving on. We’ve played well the last six weeks so we’re feeling good. Next one is going to be big, I’m sure we’ll be the underdog but hopefully we’re up to it.

“(Apple Valley) is obviously a good team and they play a good schedule also. Hopefully we can figure out a way to keep a couple of their guys down and have a couple of our guys get loose.”
A game plan that the Raiders are ready to run with.

“It’s going to be a tough battle we just have to lock down defense on them, play hard and score on our chances,” Kinne said.

“We’re feeling pretty good right now.”

The semifinal game between No. 3 Cretin-Derham Hall and No. 2 Apple Valley will take place on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m. at the State Fairgrounds Coliseum in St. Paul.

Tough Battle to the Very End


East Ridge defenseman Jack Leiviska battles Cretin-Derham Hall's Bob Kinne (No. 16) during the Thursday, Feb. 24, game. Photo by Adam Crane

Despite East Ridge being the No. 6 seed in Section 3AA, No. 3 seed Cretin-Derham Hall knew it would not be an easy game.

“It was a little bit of a hectic game but you gotta expect that this time of year,” Cretin-Derham Hall coach Jim O’Neill said. They’re all going to be tight. I thought East Ridge played a good game. I think that goal at the end of the second period was huge for us. Our goalie made a big save at the end of the second period, too. It was a tight game but I’m glad we’re moving on.”

The quarterfinal matchup was closer that the final score suggested.

“(East Ridge) is well-disciplined,” O’Neill said. “They did a good job in their end. They didn’t give up a whole lot secondary shots, we’d get our one shot and that was about it. They played well in front of (Andrew McDonough) and he’s a good goaltender.

“They’re well-coached and they play good, tough defense. We split during the year so we knew we were going to get a good shot out of them and we feel fortunate to come out of this.”

Cretin-Derham Hall came out of the game on top to win the tiebreaker and advance in the Section 3AA playoffs.

East Ridge ended its second varsity season with a 10-16-0 overall record and skated hard until the very end.

“We told (the team) we were proud of the way they played,” East Ridge coach Doug Long said. “They battled, they played hard and there was a bounce here and a bounce there. We don’t hit a shin pad there at the end of the first period and they don’t get that shorthanded goal. We get a bounce on that last one in the second period when we had a one-timer in the slot – goalie made a nice save. Those are game-changers.”

Along with those tough breaks, Long gave credit to the talented Cretin-Derham Hall squad.

“Guys like (Bob) Kinne and (Tony) Barbato and the O’Brien’s and (Tyller Robert) that big defenseman out there – that’s a tough group to play against,” Long said.

“Unfortunately we just didn’t get the bounces tonight, we thought maybe we would.”


Cretin-Derham Hall junior forward Rob Donovan (No. 12) pops the puck over East Ridge goaltender Andrew McDonough as Raptors' Sean Rudin (No. 5) looks on during the Thursday, Feb. 24, game. Photo by Adam Crane

More than a hockey game

All of the regular pregame festivities took place prior to the Thursday, Feb. 24, Section 3AA quarterfinal game between Cretin-Derham Hall and East Ridge.

Warmups, announcement of the starting lineups and playing of the national anthem.

As the anthem ended, Cretin-Derham Hall huddled around their goaltender for some last minute motivational words.

However there was a different scene on the opposite end of the arena.

East Ridge players took a knee in the far corner of the rink and held a moment of silence and prayer to honor Ann Haering – an East Ridge senior who passed away on Sunday, Feb. 20, after a four-year battle with cancer.

“We were proud of the fact that they battled hard this week,” East Ridge coach Doug Long said about his team’s effort. “They lost (Haering) to cancer earlier in the week and they were dealing with that, yet they still had a crystal clear throughout practice.

“I think that’s probably what stings even more than the loss. They poured it out there tonight.”

Despite the 4-1 final outcome, East Ridge played a physical game that had both teams skating hard until the final whistle.

“Our kids have battled some adversity and they had a great game plan that they put in to place,” Long said.

Along with the already heavy hearts East Ridge played with, the loss was difficult to bear for both players and coaches.

“There’s two parts of the season that you don’t really like – it’s that day that you make cuts at the beginning and then when you have to address your kids after they lose their playoff game,” Long said.

Still, positivity and determination are on the horizon for the Raptors.

“Our program, being two years old, there’s been growth each and every year,” Long said. “The kids have learned a lot this year in terms of how to play as a team and how to play the game so that you give yourself the best chance of winning. Maybe that doesn’t always mean putting pucks in the net but maybe keeping pucks out of our net. Unfortunately we’re going to graduate nine seniors – this is our first senior class which makes that even harder tonight – a group of kids that played their last high school hockey game.

“As far as positives, it’s just momentum and we’ll keep plugging away.”

To read an article from the Woodbury Bulletin about Ann Haering, click here.

Statistics, Summary

Photo Gallery

Game Recap

Senior forward Bob Kinne scored a hat trick and six different Raiders registered an assist during No. 3 Cretin-Derham Hall's 4-1 victory in a Section 3AA quarterfinal game against No. 6 East Ridge on Thursday, Feb. 24.

Rob Donovan scored the additional goal for Cretin-Derham Hall that came seconds after an East Ridge goal was waved off on a high-sticking call.

East Ridge senior forward Kelvin Walz scored the Raptors' only goal of the game on a power-play opportunity.

Scoring chances were hard to come by in the physical game with only 31 total shots on goal.

East Ridge goaltender Andrew McDonough made 18 saves as the Raptors finished the season with a 10-16-0 record.

Cretin-Derham Hall goaltender Joe Schneider made nine saves for the win.

Up next for the Raiders (14-8-4) is a Section 3AA semifinal matchup on Saturday, Feb. 26, against No. 2 seed Apple Valley at 8 p.m. at the State Fairgrounds Coliseum in St. Paul.


Cretin-Derham Hall senior defenseman Tyller Robert. Photo by Adam Crane

Three Stars

1. Bob Kinne, Cretin-Derham Hall
The senior forward came into the game with 49 points (19 goals, 30 assists) in the regular season. The Raiders' leading scorer started out the 2011 postseason with a bang registering his second hat trick of the season. Kinne scored twice - once early and once late - in the first period. His second goal came on a shorthanded chance that ended up being the game-winner and set the tone for the remainder of the game.

2. Tyller Robert, Cretin-Derham Hall
Along with excellent play at both ends of the ice, Robert provided an assist on Kinne's hat trick goal. The senior defense sent several hard shots on East Ridge goaltender Andrew McDonough and did a good job shutting down any scoring chances for the Raptors.

3. Kelvin Walz, East Ridge
With his dad, Wes Walz, as well as former Minnesota Wild great - and current East Ridge assistant coach - looking on, Kelvin punched in a second period power play that brought the Raptors within one of Cretin-Derham Hall at the time. The senior forward had a couple good scoring chances and his presence was felt in the defensive zone as well.


East Rudge senior forward Kelvin Walz (left) carries the puck into the Cretin-Derham Hall defended by Raiders' defenseman Derek Olmschenk. Photo by Adam Crane

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