Keith Abood, a former assistant hockey coach at St. Ignatius, took over the NDCL hockey program in September.
Match photos click here.
Keith Abood, a former assistant hockey coach at St. Ignatius, took over the NDCL hockey program in September.
With new leadership in place, the Lions returned to their home ice at Mentor Civic Center Arena Nov. 19 to take on the Kent Roosevelt Rough Riders.
Although NDCL made a valiant effort to comeback from a two goal deficit, the Rough Riders scored the final two goals of the game to defeat the Lions, 4-2.
“We played Kent Roosevelt; they are a very, very strong team,” said Coach Abood. “I told the players, hey, we’re playing against a well coached team, a well oiled machine.
“I think both teams played very well.”
The Rough Riders got on the scoreboard first when Alex Simms scored with 11:50 left in the first period.
Kent Roosevelt then scored again with 7:55 left in the second period on a goal by Teddy Maccarone to put the Rough Riders up 2-0.
But the Lions would come roaring back with two second-period goals of their own to tie the game at 2-2.
First, with 4:31 left in the second period, freshman Colin Krajnak scored his first goal of his high school career to bring the Lions to within one goal.
“So for mine (goal), we were shorthanded a bit,” said Krajnak. “They passed the puck out to the point and he went for a shot, and I blocked it, and it deflected off my pad and it just came down. He back-checked me really well, so it (the puck) just kind of floated up and went right over the goalie’s shoulder.”
Shortly after Krajnak scored, Lions senior Michael Mangelo scored with 3:32 left in the second period to tie the game at 2-2.
“We had one of our defenseman, I think it was Charlie, he dumped the puck out,” said Mangelo. “It (the puck) hit one of their defenseman, and it came up in the air. I batted the puck down and then beat the defenseman in a race, and then went top-right on the goalie.”
The game would not be tied for long, though, as the Rough Riders took the lead 20 seconds later on a goal by Parker Gibbons to go up 3-2.
Kent Roosevelt’s Luke Hillebrecht scored the final goal of the game with 13:50 left in the third period to make the final score 4-2.
Though the Lions did not get the W in their season opener, they are excited about the upcoming season.
Lions goalie Anna Adamic had an excellent game in goal. For the game, she had 24 saves.
“I am excited for the season,” Adamic said. “We just really have to work more on our endurance.
“I think this year as compared to last year, our team connection, I would say, is a lot better than what it was. And we’re trying to grow as a team more than just growing as individuals.”
Certainly Coach Abood knows what it takes to produce a successful hockey team and develop the important team cohesion necessary for success.
As a hockey player, he was a standout athlete at Shaker Heights High School, and went on to play NCAA Division I hockey at Kent State University.
Abood was an assistant for St. Ignatius from 2009 to 2011 and helped lead St. Ignatius to the 2010 state championship.
With three games scheduled, NDCL hockey has a busy week ahead: Mayfield on Nov. 25, then Aurora and Westlake on Nov. 26. All three games will be played at the Gilmour Academy Ice Rink.
