There were a number of people that said this was going to be the season when the Fenwick hockey team fell from its Catholic League throne.
Despite being hit hard by graduation and a coaching change, the Friars proved their doubters wrong by capturing their third consecutive conference crown.
And by the end of this month, coach Dan Wolff is hoping his squad will add its fourth consecutive Kennedy Cup to its trophy case.
“When I first took over, everyone knew it was going to be a change,” said Wolff, who replaced Dave Cromer before the start of the season. “We set a goal then, and went for it. Now, we’re just trying to finish it.”
After a two-week layoff, Fenwick opens its defense of the Kennedy Cup with a best-of-three game semifinal series against Providence.
Game 1 is set for 5:45 p.m. Friday at Ridgeland Common Ice Arena. Game 2 will take place at 7:40 p.m. Saturday at Southwest Ice Arena in Crestwood.
“We’re not going to change anything that got us here,” Wolff said. “We’ll keep putting pressure on them, and trying to force them to make mistakes in their zone.”
The top-seeded Friars posted a 2-1 record against the Celtics during the regular season. Providence earned a 3-2 victory back in November, while Fenwick outscored the No. 4 seed 11-2 in its two victories.
As a team, Fenwick outscored its six Catholic League rivals 114-35 this season.
Nick Powers paced the offensive attack during the conference campaign with 16 goals. The forward recorded at least one point in 14 of the team’s 18 conference games.
Joe Fornari finished with 18 assists and led the team with 30 points. Also keep an eye on Steve Addison, who set a team record with five assists in a game earlier this season.
“Joe and Nick are the veterans of the team,” Wolff said. “They have done a great job on and off the ice.”
Goalie Salvatore Calace registered 12 of the Friars’ 15 conference wins, as they went 15-3 and captured the league crown by two points over St. Rita.
Providence finished the conference campaign with a 7-7-4 record, but started to put things together at the end of the season.
The Celtics stunned Mount Carmel 5-3 the last week of the regular season, which cost the Caravan a first-round bye in the tournament.
Offensively, however, Providence has struggled at times. Blake Warkentin leads the team with 10 goals, while Colin Finn has nine assists.
The winner will face either No. 2 seed St. Rita or No. 3 seed Mount Carmel.
St. Rita captured Game 1 of its series 3-2 in double-overtime on Sunday. St. Rita will go for the sweep on Thursday night in Flossmoor.