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3/4/07-Hockey
St. Mary's wins regional hockey title
By Mike Rosenbaum of The West Bloomfield Eccentric
ORCHARD LAKE--For the second consecutive season, Orchard Lake St. Mary's defeated Catholic League rival Novi Catholic Central in a Division 1 hockey regional final contest Saturday, 2-0. The contest was played at St. Mary's.
St. Mary's, 13-9-5, will face Northville in a quarterfinal game Wednesday, at Ann Arbor's Ice Cube. The Eaglets lost to Brighton in last season's quarterfinal.
St. Mary's scored two power play goals in a 30-second span of the first period Saturday. Steve Tallman netted the first goal, deflecting a pass that beat Shamrocks goalie Andrew Duff while the Eaglets held a two-man advantage. Brandon Kozlowski drew the lone assist.
Shane Halaas made it 2-0 at the 6:19 mark of the period, tipping a Clinton Bourbonais shot into the net. Billy Balent also assisted on the goal.
St. Mary's goalie Joe Savona, who made 21 saves to earn the shutout, made two outstanding stops prior to his team's first goal. CC's Chad Wilhelm broke in alone on Savona during an early Shamrocks power play, but Savona kicked out his right leg to make a pad save. Three minutes later, during an Eaglets power play, Savona stood his ground and stopped Douglas Raymond's drive from the low slot.
St. Mary's played a strong defensive game, particularly in the second period, when the Shamrocks managed just four shots on net.
The Eaglets came close to making the score 3-0 on several occasions in the third period, as Ben Shields hit a crossbar early in the period, Charlie Semaan fired a shot which deflected off Duff's mask, and Balent banged a shot off the goalpost late in the period.
CC, meanwhile, enjoyed two sterling chances during an early third-period power play, but Savona made a pair of quick saves, against Greg Merrill and Wilhelm, both from close range.
Catholic Central had its final chance in the last minute on a Jeremy Christopher breakaway, but Savona again stood tall to preserve his shutout.
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