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Three-goal third period carries St. Thomas Academy past Eastview

By MATT STEICHEN, Special to the Star Tribune, 03/01/18, 9:00PM CST

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Luke Herzog's goal broke a 1-1 tie and two late goals sealed a 4-1 victory in the Class 2A, Section 3 final.


St. Thomas Academy forward Rob Christy (11) attempted a shot on Eastview goaltender Ben Beattie (35) in the first period Thursday. Photo: Aaron Lavinsky * aaron.lavinsky@startribune.com

St. Thomas Academy pulled away from Eastview for a 4-1 victory in the Class 2A, Section 3 final Thursday at Braemar Arena in Edina.

Luke Herzog’s sprawling goal gave STA the lead 2 minutes, 13 seconds into the third period. Herzog added an empty-netter with 23.3 seconds left and senior Ray Christy scored eight seconds later to ice the Cadets’ 10th section title in 14 seasons.

“We talked between the second and third period and reminded the kids that they’re not just playing for themselves and each other, but for all those that had the [St. Thomas Academy] uniforms on before them,” coach Tom Vannelli said. “They understood and rose to the occasion.”

First report

Fourth-ranked St. Thomas Academy pulled away from Eastview for a 4-1 victory in the Class 2A, Section 3 final Thursday at Braemar Arena in Edina.

Luke Herzog’s sprawling goal gave St. Thomas Academy the lead 2 minutes, 13 seconds into the third period. Herzog added an empty-netter with 23.3 seconds left and senior Ray Christy scored eight seconds later to ice the Cadets’ 10th section title in 14 seasons.

Cadets senior goaltender Atticus Kelly, a Frank Brimsek Award finalist, stopped all 13 of Eastview’s third-period shots to preserve the lead. He finished with 34 saves.

St. Thomas Academy (25-2-1) posted a 12-4 shot advantage over the first 17 minutes, but skated off the ice with the score still deadlocked at 0-0. Herzog swatted a rebound into the net just over four minutes in, but the goal was immediately waived off for high-sticking.

Despite the lopsided shot count, Eastview seized momentum late in the first period and produced a couple of close-range scoring chances that were turned away by Kelly. The Lightning carried that energy over into the second and out-shot the Cadets, 18-13. They finally scored when Zach Anderson’s slap-shot trickled through Kelly’s legs 5:01 into the second to put the South Suburban Conference champions up, 1-0.

The Lightning (23-5) led for over 10 minutes before Cadet senior Chase Foley tied the game with his fourth goal of the section tournament.

Check back later for more on the game.

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