Ahearn comes through in double-OT as O’Hara wins third straight PCL final
HAVERFORD — John Paul Ahearn admitted that Colin McKee was in his head.
As the PCL title game between top-seeded Cardinal O’Hara and second-seeded Father Judge neared the end of regulation Thursday night, Ahearn had the win on his stick twice. McKee, the Crusaders goaltender, stopped him both times, once with his leg, once with his glove as Ahearn tried to tuck the puck home.
It took a while, but Ahearn got a third chance. At 5:32 of the second overtime, he slipped from behind McKee’s goal and stuffed in the game-winner to give the Lions a 5-4 victory and their third consecutive league title.
“I just looked to get the goalie to think I’m going one way, stop and wrap it in, try to get it between his skate and the post,” Ahearn said. “Most of the time, if it doesn’t go in right away, it bounces off of him and goes in. I’ll take it.”
“I tell him to go north-south more, use his size,” O’Hara coach Ed Banes said of Ahearn. “That was just a great move to the net.”
For two years, Ahearn has been arguably the Lions’ most reliable player. Whereas 2018 Daily Times Player of the Year Liam McCanney played a high-energy, physical game, Ahearn’s movements on the ice are deliberate and measured. With his long stride and ability to pick off passes, he often goes in and out of the action with the opponent hardly realizing he’s there. And he’s a remarkably consistent scorer.
So as the contest with Judge went further and further into the evening, Banes kept calling Ahearn’s name, double- and triple-shifting the lanky center.
It paid off in the end.
“Senior year,” Ahearn said, soaking in the championship, “You’re not going to beat this.”
And yet for a long stretch, O’Hara was on the ropes. Ahearn opened the scoring in the first, with goals from Michael Roney and Steve Graney quickly following for a 3-0 lead. The Lions buried three of their first eight shots and in the process chased Crusaders’ starter Mark Allendorf.
McKee entered the game and gave his team a lift. Or maybe Judge drew inspiration from a bitter February that saw the Crusaders go 0-2 against O’Hara. Here, they were in danger of going 0-3, in need of a comeback — and they got one.
Dominic Corrado scored on a penalty shot. Robert Werner followed with a slick move to beat Troy Percival in close. Then Owen Newhouse pulled Judge level on the power play. The Crusaders outshot the Lions, 15-4 in the second period.
O’Hara’s leaders used the intermission to settle themselves.
“We went into the locker room between the second and the third, and me, Matt Beck, the captains sat down, looked at everyone and said, ‘do this for our seniors,’” Ahearn said. “You don’t want to be on the other end of that ice. It took a lot of composure.”
The Lions were better in the final frame but fell behind for the first time with just 4:49 to play when Newhouse got his second of the night. Judge was jubilant, though the celebration was short-lived. Beck, who was his typical workhorse self on the blue line, fired in a wrist shot to tie things at four.
That result held for one-and-a-third extra periods with each goalie coming up with big stops. Percival — “the backbone of our team” in Ahearn’s words — made 12 saves in the first overtime. He finished with 40.
On the other side of the rink, Jacob Pohlig had O’Hara’s best shot at a winner. He pulled a backhander off the post as he looked at a wide-open net.
A second ice cut split the first and second overtimes, and the Lions benefited as Ahearn and Beck got a much needed rest.
“We relied on them big time,” Banes said. “We just got that (ice) cut, and we pushed them to the limit. Their experience, you can’t put a measure on that.”
On the last play, Ahearn collected the puck below the goal line. Ever the patient player, he faked to come out once, twice then made good on his third attempt.
