SJ advances to State finals

Defeating the Allen Eagles on Friday night 2-1, the Strake Jesuit Hockey team continued its historic inaugural season by advancing to the finals of the State tournament. After a strong but scoreless first period, the Crusaders pressured the Eagles early in the second. Sean Ahlgren '24 won his battle in the corner and found Grisha Nikulin '22 alone in front of the net for the first goal of game. Then, tied with just over a minute left late in the third period, Michael Martinez '22 intercepted a pass in the neutral zone, made a move through and around all five Eagles' players, and rifled a shot in the upper right corner to give Jesuit a lead it never lost. The team was led throughout by strong play in its own end by its defensive core of James Rheaume '24, Logan Graham '24, Charles Higgins '23, and Michael Martinez '22. But it was goalie Misha Saratovtsev '24 who stole the show, stopping 35 of Allen's 36 shots, including a few highlight reel saves late in the game when it mattered most.

We will take on Jesuit Dallas tomorrow to finish off round robin play and again in the finals of the tournament on Sunday! We are SJ!