The St. Louis U. High hockey team took on their bitter rivals, the De Smet Spartans, in the 2021 Jesuit Cup last Friday. Coming out of their 2-1-3 Christmas break (the wins came against Vianney and Lafayette), the Jr. Bills faced their most important game just two days back into the new school year. Although the Jr. Bills had beat the Spartans 4-2 on Dec. 18, they knew a Cup game was different.  

“We were all super excited to play, really hyped up,” said junior Max Sextro. “It was exciting to play De Smet, one of the best teams in the league. We were excited to compete for the J Cup, and be able to raise money, and it was one of the most exciting games of my career.”

But besides the thought of victory on players ' minds, so was the memory of Clare Blase. Blase, a former Nerinx hall student and SLUH cheerleader, was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer in 2011. Undergoing chemotherapy and countless trips to the hospital, Blase slowly regained health. However in 2012, the cancer reappeared and spread throughout her body; she passed away on Dec. 14, 2012, four days before her 15th birthday. 

Since the 2013 Jesuit Cup, SLUH and De Smet have dedicated the game in order to raise funds for Nerinx Hall’s Clare Blase Historical Scholarship. Often raising over $1,000 a year, the Jr. Bills and Spartans have helped contribute to a fund that is now over $61,500. The Clare Blase Historical Scholarship helps girls at Nerinx Hall who have struggled with cancer in their lives. The current recipient at Nerinx is struggling with her mom who has cancer, and the former recipient of the Clare Blase Historical Fund lost her father to cancer. The Jesuit Cup symbolizes the unity between two rival schools who join together every year to dedicate their play in order to aid students at Nerinx through hockey. 

“It's a historic game,” said head coach Steve Walters. “You add the Clare Blase Fundraiser to that, and that precedes the event. And once the puck drops, you’re now battling one of your biggest rivals. And they took it to us during the first period.”

Neither team appeared to be fazed by the 10:05 p.m. start time, especially the Spartans. Just 31 seconds into play, a long lead pass from behind De Smet’s goal found a Spartan attacker who fired the puck over the glove of senior Jake Buttice, hitting the crossbar and sending the puck out of play, a great relief for the Jr. Bills. The referees stopped play, gathering with one another to see if the puck hit the inside of the bar and bounced out. However, after discussion, the puck was determined not to have crossed the goal line. 

The first few minutes were back-and-forth with plenty of physicality. Sextro landed a big hit on a De Smet player near the center circle, just illustrating how both teams were looking to play the game: high intensity. 

With 9:31 remaining in the first period, De Smet scored the first goal of the night. Losing possession in their offensive zone, the Jr. Bills turned the puck over and were caught out on a four-on-two. The Spartan puck carrier found an open player in front of goal who slotted it in between Buttice’s legs to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. 

Only 1:13 later, De Smet doubled their lead. A fast break by the Spartans split the Jr. Bills defense, a backhander beat Buttice, and De Smet was up 2-0 in the Jesuit Cup after just seven minutes. 

“After the second goal, Coach Walters called a timeout. He pumped us up, not that we should have needed a kick,” said Sextro. “He gave it to us and we started coming back.”

With 7:16 remaining in the first period, the Jr. Bills looked to cut the deficit in half. Awarded a power play, SLUH had a man advantage for the next two minutes but were unable to capitalize on their opportunities. Throughout the power play, the Jr. Bills were able to move the puck around, shooting it on net, but the Spartan goalie kept all attempts out of the net. 

Shortly after the power play ended, De Smet scored their third goal of the night with only 2:36 remaining in the first. Nimbly evading a hit on the boards, a Spartan defender snuck by SLUH’s backline and threw the puck on net. A outstretched stick of a teammate tipped the puck past a helpless Buttice into the goal to give the Spartans a comfortable lead.

“We had a rough first period giving up three goals,” said Warnecke. “And we weren’t getting too many shots.”

With 9:19 remaining in the second period, the Jr. Bills saw a great chance at goal go by. Warnecke found the puck in the middle of the ice. With a Spartan defender closing on him, Warnecke fired the puck past the left post, narrowly missing the goal.

Shortly after, a scuffle broke out between players at the mouth of the De Smet goal. Frustration boiling over, a SLUH player gave the De Sme goalie a little tap with his stick, which caused the ensuing shoving with the referees breaking it up. Junior Zach Petlanksy was sent to the box for two minutes, giving De Smet a power play. Unable to capitalize during the power play and through the rest of the period, De Smet held their lead at three goals, and it looked as if they were minutes away from lifting the Jesuit Cup for the first time in every De Smet players’ career. 

“We try to control our emotions, and just play a consistent game,” said Walters. “The leaders on our team just kept the positive bench, and captain Matt Warnecke led the comeback.”

Entering into the final 15 minutes, the Jr. Bills knew they needed to strike early and often to retain the Cup. And that is exactly what SLUH did. Only 42 seconds into the third period, the Jr. Bills made the score 3-1. A beautiful toe drag by a SLUH attacker around a De Smet defensemen lead to a three-on-one. He then found Warnecke racing down the ice who easily beat the goaltender low and to the right side with a powerful one-timer. 

“Once I put in the first one, I knew we were about to score a couple goals,” said Warnecke.
With a two-goal deficit still, SLUH had a long way to go. Then with 13:34 remaining, SLUH was awarded a power play, a great opportunity. And it did not take long at all. Less than two minutes since their previous goal, the Jr. Bills added another one on a shot by senior Brock Massie that rebounded off the Spartan goalie and to a waiting Warnecke, who tapped it in for his second goal of the night. 

“After the second goal, I knew we weren’t going to lose that game,” said Warnecke. “We just needed to keep pushing in the third to tie that game.”

Now trailing only 3-2, the Jr. Bills needed another goal. And they found it with 9:21 remaining in the game, from freshman William Peterson. A corker of a shot from the blue line beat the De Smet goalie high right to tie up the game.
Both teams looked to add one another goal for the lead, but all the momentum seemed to be with the Jr. Bills. However, the Spartans were not discouraged by the Jr. Bills showing. Less than a minute later, the Spartans broke the tie, giving them a 4-3 lead with only 8:32 left to play. The Jr. Bills needed one goal for a tie, and with a tie, they would retain the Cup. 

With 3:58 in regulation, the Jr. Bills found their fourth goal of the period and the game from Sextro. A scrum on the boards in De Smet’s zone was won by the Jr. Bills. Sextro, all alone in the middle of the ice, passed the puck and slotted it under the pads of a sprawling goaltender who was unable to make the save. The score was tied.

“It was crazy, it was really fun to be a key part of the game,” said Sextro. “Knowing that I played a big role in the six-peat, it was just crazy to score that and celebrate with the boys.”

The final three minutes of the game remained scoreless, and because of a fantastic comeback, the Jr. Bills retained the Jesuit Cup for the sixth straight year, as a tie results in the Cup staying with whoever had it the previous year. The players celebrated their win in front of the bench with the Jesuit trophy safely in the Jr. Bill's hands with the defeated Spartans looking on. 

“It's really good to know that we can compete with arguably the best team in the league,” said Sextro. “We dominated them in the third period. Coach said it after the game that no matter what we are never out, and that’s good to know going into the playoffs.”

The Jr. Bills look ahead to Jan. 18, when they will host Kirkwood. After such a big comeback win against De Smet, the players feel energized, confident going into the remainder of the season and the Challenge Cup later this February. 

“We want to keep building momentum, and building improved play,” said Walters. “The kids know the system and know what to do. The message is clear and we know that every game we play is going to be a tough one. Kirkwood competed with everyone, but if we follow the system we have been working on, we’ll pull out the win.”