It just wasn’t meant to be for the fourth-seeded Park Wolfpack Thursday night.
Playing before an enthusiastic standing-room only crowd, the Wolfpack couldn’t hand with rival Cretin-Derham Hall and dropped a 4-0 decision in the Section 3AA quarterfinals.
Park’s season ends at 15-11. Fifth-seeded Cretin-Derham Hall will play at top-seeded Eastview in the Section 3AA semifinals Monday, Feb. 26. Eastview blasted Hastings 7-0 in the quarterfinals to advance.
“There’s no reason anybody should be hanging their head in that room,” said Park head coach Jeff Corkish. “They played their hearts out. They battled. They did everything they had to do in order to give themselves a chance. We out chanced them, we had good scoring chances, we just didn’t bury it. Their goalie played great and sometimes that’s just hockey.
“We did everything we wanted to do today,” Corkish continued. “Sure, there were mistakes. But both teams made mistakes. The effort, the fight, the grit, everything we said you have to have in that game to be there, to give yourself a chance, we did. And I believe in my heart that we were the better team for all those things we wanted to do. The scoreboard gave their chance at them of course, and they deserved to win, they’re a good team. They’re well organized and they didn’t quit either. It was just a really great freaking hockey game, and it just didn’t go our way.”
Neither team scored in the first period. The Raiders took a 1-0 lead in the second on an even strength goal by Max Bennett.
Cretin led 1-0 entering the third and dominated the final 17 minutes, pushing in three goals, including an empty net score with two and a half minutes to play.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Park sophomore goalie Henry Voss. “We gave it all we had, the whole season really. And some bounces didn’t go our way. We can still walk out of the locker room with our head high. No matter the outcome we put it all out there and that’s all we can do at the end of the day.
“It’s good to see how many people got better, how many people got better,” Voss added. “We had great captains the whole year and overall, we got better throughout the season. That’s important.”
The Raiders outshot the Wolfpack just 24-23 but had an 11-6 edge in the third period.
It was a tough way to go out for Park’s eight seniors, captains Jake Young, Jackson Gear and Breydon Kortus, along with Wyatt Beaurline, Cole Talledge, Brody Nadler, Tommy Lucas, Adam Friemann and Tate Kelsey.
“I feel terrible for the seniors because they deserved more than that,” said coach Corkish. “They did a great job. They stood up and played hard. They weren’t scared of the game or the moment. They should be really freaking proud of who they are and who they’ve become. From day one to now they’re highly respected in my eyes. I’m proud of them, I wish we had them two more weeks. The seniors, without what they did today we have no chance.”
But a very strong nucleus returns especially in the top line of next year’s seniors Jackson Rudh, Owen Corkish, and Gavin Moss, along with returning goalies Henry Voss and Aidan Miller. Rudh finished the season with 30 goals and 21 assists in 26 games. Corkish had 12 goals and 30 assists and Moss scored 12 goals with 23 assists.
“We came out hard, we battled, the bounces didn’t go our way, but we sure made them scared in a lot of situations,” said sophomore forward Gavin Sand. “It’s hard but two more years for me. Don’t take your eyes off of us.”
