St. Thomas Academy off to good start in search of another title

Just as the puck hit the ice Wednesday night, the St. Thomas Academy fans began to chant, "This one's over… ."

They were right. St. Cloud Apollo had no chance against the two-time defending Class 1A champion, losing 12-0 in the quarterfinals.

"It just happened," St. Thomas Academy coach Greg Vannelli said. "It wasn't ­comfortable for either team."

Discomfort began early and repeated often for unseeded St. Could Apollo. The Cadets scored four in the first period, five in the second, and three in a toned-down third period.

Top-seeded St. Thomas Academy respectfully acknowledged there was no need for ­scoring once it hit a dozen with 10 minutes left in the game. Instead, the fourth line worked on moving the puck and passed on good shot opportunities. This nice gesture meant the Cadets would finish four goals short of the state tournament record for most goals in a game (16).

St. Thomas Academy had no intention of a statement victory in the opener of its final Class 1A tournament. Jack Dougherty reiterated the goal is to win a state title no matter what level they're at; sometimes that includes ­blowouts.

The Cadets' defense was just as good as their offense. St. Cloud Apollo went 33 minutes without a shot on goal and fans on both sides applauded once it finally happened.

"We know [the fans are] here to have fun, too," Cadets forward Alex Johnson said. "I think we mostly try to tune that stuff out. Obviously we don't think this one is already over cause a 0-0 game is far from over."

It was over 3 minutes, 42 seconds later when Matt Perry scored the only goal they would need.

Jason Gonzalez