A stellar season came to a sudden, crashing halt for the Patrick Fogarty Catholic Secondary School boys’ hockey team Tuesday at Rotary Place.
The visiting Jean Vanier Catholic High School Storm from Collingwood jumped out to an early lead and used a dominant third period to defeat the Flames 5-1 in the Catholic School Athletics of Simcoe County championship game.
The host Flames gave up an early power-play goal in the first frame and were down 2-0 in the second before they got on the board when Tyler Gysbers notched a seeing-eye power-play goal from the point to halve the lead. That goal was like a jolt of adrenalin for the home team, but despite several good scoring opportunities, the Flames were thwarted.
Then, with just three minutes left in the middle stanza, the Storm took advantage of an odd-man rush to re-take a two-goal advantage. The timely marker seemed to take the wind from Fogarty’s sails and the Storm scored the only two goals in the final frame to seal the win.
It was a disappointing end to the season for the Flames, who finished second in league standings – and first among AA teams – thanks to a 4-2 record in regular-season play. In their playoff game last week, the Flames defeated St. Joseph’s (Barrie) 4-0 to punch their ticket to the title game. The Storm finished just behind the Flames with a 2-2-3 regular-season record. Vanier beat St. Thomas Aquinas 1-0 last week to book their berth in the finale.
