Playing five games in eight days isn’t the ideal schedule a hockey coach would like to see his team endure.
But in a way, Fenwick coach Dan Wolff is happy his squad is faced with that right now.
Not only is Fenwick in the finals of the Kennedy Cup, but it also advanced to the quarterfinals of the High School Invitational and the Sweet 16 of the Blackhawk Cup.
“It’s a tough stretch, but I would rather have us playing right now than sitting on the side watching,” Wolff said.
The Friars forced a winner-take-all Game 3 in the Kennedy Cup Finals after recording a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over Mt. Carmel Thursday night at Homewood-Flossmoor Ice Arena in Flossmoor.
K.C. Madock’s goal with 1:47 to play in overtime was the difference, as it kept Fenwick’s dream alive of capturing its fourth consecutive Kennedy Cup.
Game 3 is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at Southwest Ice Arena in Crestwood.
The Friars are looking to become only the second program to win four straight Kennedy Cups.
“This series has been exciting for everyone,” said Wolff, whose team fell
4-3 in Game 1. “There is going to be a lot of publicity for this game. The atmosphere and crowd size for Game 2 was great, and I’m sure it’s going to be even better for Game 3.”
In both games of the series, Fenwick has jumped out to quick leads, only to blow them in the closing minutes.
Mount Carmel scored two goals in the last two minutes of Game 1, and rallied from a 2-0 third-period deficit in Game 2 to force overtime.
“We can’t blow any more leads,” Madock said. “The key in Game 3 is going to be momentum, and we need to keep it.”
But luckily for Wolff’s team, it was able to rebound from the collapse in Game 2 to salvage a win on Madock’s rebound.
“‘The puck bounced off the (right) post and came right to me,'” Madock said.
“Everything happened so fast, I just wanted to make sure I didn’t hit the post when I hit it again. Thank God I didn’t.”
Fenwick took a 1-0 lead on Greg Luka’s goal with 11:34 left in the first period. Joe Fornari made it 2-0 when he found the back of the net with 14:49 to go in the second period.
After the emotional-draining game last Thursday, Fenwick dropped a heartbreaker in the quarterfinals of the High School Invitational on Friday night at Hoffman Estates Ice Arena.
The Friars’ defense once again cracked in the final minute, allowing Loyola Gold to record a 5-4 victory. Glenbrook South then beat Fenwick 5-3 on Saturday.
“The Loyola game was great,” Wolff said. “We had some chances, but didn’t capitalize. On Saturday, I played my third and fourth line because we were knocked out of the winner’s bracket.”
New Trier Green went on to win the High School Invitational crown on Sunday with a 7-5 victory over Glenbrook North. That game capped off the seven-month long tournament, which featured 12 of the premier programs in the state.
The Friars were 6-8 in 14 tournament games.
Fenwick battled Providence in Sweet 16 play of the Blackhawk Cup on Tuesday night at The Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville. Results were not available at time of publication.
With a win, the Friars would face the winner of Loyola Gold/St. Viator in quarterfinal play Saturday afternoon at The Edge.