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ICE HOCKEY: La Salle Defeats St. Joe's Prep to Win Flyers Cup...Next Stop, The State Championship

By John Knebels -Photos by Kathy Leister & Liam Turnbach, 03/22/19, 4:45PM EDT

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By: John Knebels

 

PHILADELPHIA – The all-tournament team had just been announced, and there was one more plaudit to come.

Mike Casey heard his name. He was surprised. He shouldn’t have been.

The La Salle High School sophomore had been named the Most Valuable Player of the Flyers Cup March 17 at the Wells Fargo Center after notching a goal and two assists to help lead the Explorers past rival St. Joseph’s Prep, 5-2.

“It feels amazing,” said Casey, who finished the two-game Flyers Cup with a tournament-best goal and six assists. “It’s so special. It’s crazy. I couldn’t have done it without my linemates.

“This has been a grind for sure. It was hard. We had to beat every team about four times, but we did it.”

The Explorers were coming off an epic 5-4, come-from-behind win over Holy Ghost Prep in the first round during which they scored all of their goals in the third period.

Trailing 4-3, La Salle tied the game on a goal by sophomore Dan Sambuco with 28 seconds remaining. Incredibly, the Explorers took their first and only lead 11 seconds later on a game-winner by sophomore Sam Lipkin. Casey assisted on both goals.

Against the Prep, which had defeated Malvern Prep in the first round but had not defeated La Salle in four tries, the Explorers forged a 3-0 lead on first-period goals by senior Brandon Leer, junior Ryan Ferry, and Casey in a span of 2 minutes, 49 seconds. The Hawks responded with two power play goals and trailed by only 3-2 heading into the third.

“Our message was that we had to stay out of the box,” said Casey, “because they scored both on the power play, so that was our message in the locker room.”

Lipkin took a feed from Casey and scored only 38 seconds into the third to provide some breathing room. Sambuco would add an empty net goal after taking a pass from – you guessed it – Mike Casey.

 “It’s kind of crazy,” said junior forward Eric Ford. “Last week we were down a goal with 30 seconds left and we really got lucky there. And then we came here and wanted to play our hearts out to try and get the win.”

Junior defense Collin Kleiser agreed.

“We have had one hell of a team all year,” said Klesier. “We showed what we are about.” 

La Salle and “Flyers Cup Champion” have become somewhat synonymous. The Explorers have now captured 10 Cups since 1996 and six this decade (2011, 12, 13, 14, 16, and 19).

The Explorers have also corralled five state titles and will try to win their sixth 4:00 Saturday against North Allegheny at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh.

“We have to get the job done,” said Kleiser. “That’s what our goal has been all year.”

FLYERS CUP CHAMPIONSHIP (video highlights by John Knebels) LA SALLE 5 - ST. JOE'S PREP 2

La Salle sophomore Mike Casey named Tournament MVP

FLYERS CUP 2019 - PHOTOS BY KATHY LEISTER (Click Here to see & purchase Flyers Cup photos)

La Salle's Eric Ford (left) and Collin Kleiser extol their teammates

Fittingly because he is an upperclassman, Leer was given the last word to try and summarize this special season that might be even more special come tomorrow.

This happening my senior year is truly a dream come true,” said Leer. “Last year was rough losing in the first round, and it made me want to win so much more since it was my last chance.

“The game against HGP humbled our team and showed us that playoff hockey requires much more focus and hard work. Going into the championship our team put everything on the line, and I’m grateful that we came out with the win.”

 

John Knebels can be reached at Jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)

FLYERS CUP 2019 - (photos by PSD Jr. Reporter Liam Turnbach)