“It” was the penalty shot slipping previous him. But after Hornbecker largely saved his workforce within the recreation with 32 saves, his teammates picked him up late — Andrew Kurowski scored into an empty web with 13.4 seconds left for his second purpose of the night time — as St. John’s beat Landon, 4-2, at Gardens Ice House in Laurel.
“A brother for life, Chase Hornbecker, a brick wall with that. The stuff that we accomplished this year, only losing two games, winning 20, we couldn’t have done it without this guy,” Kurowski mentioned. “He’s been an outstanding presence the whole year.”
In the method, the Cadets, the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champions, avenged an time beyond regulation loss to the Bears within the closing two years in the past.
“There’s no better feeling in the world,” Hornbecker mentioned. “I lost to this team two years ago in overtime, absolutely heartbreaking, so it just feels so good to come back in here, same opponent, same league, and just beat them.”
The Cadets had all of the momentum early, placing up two objectives within the first interval.
“There was a lot of nerves coming into a game like this, and then to pot that one first, huge,” mentioned Kurowski, who scored the sport’s first purpose. “Just energy high after that.”
Landon’s Kevin Fou bought the Bears on the board halfway via the second interval, chopping via our bodies and chaos within the entrance of the web to put the puck previous Hornbecker. But St. John’s responded simply 29 seconds later, with Connor Hall placing the Cadets again up by two going into the third interval. The freshman has been a playmaker all season, in accordance to Kurowski.
“All year that’s kind of been the name of our team’s game, getting a lot of production from our young guys,” Kurowski mentioned. “So to see him score when it really mattered was awesome.”
After the Bears scored on the penalty shot, Kurowski put the sport away with the empty-netter.
“DeMatha was revenge from three years ago [in the WCAC], and then to come back and get to play Landon this MAPHL championship after what happened two years ago is just as important,” Kurowski mentioned. “It’s got me a little emotional. Heartbreak two years ago and then pure joy after this one.”
