PCL Hockey Championship: Christian Green, O’Hara are picture-perfect in lengthy shutout of Father Judge

PHILADELPHIA — Christian Green had a request in the post-game photo session. After the pictures with his Cardinal O’Hara teammates, he wanted one more with the PCL hockey trophy.

One in front of the scoreboard, please. And if you could angle it so that the “0” under Father Judge’s name was clearly visible. Oh and the “55” in the shots on goal column, that would be great, too.

For the senior goalie’s exploits, no one in Cardinal O’Hara navy would refuse the request.

Green made 55 saves Wednesday night, keeping the game scoreless into overtime for Luke Melito to win it on the power play and send No. 2 O’Hara to a 1-0 win over top-seeded Father Judge at the Jefferson Health Northeast SkateZone.

“Christian played his heart out,” Melito said. “He’s played great all season and he really came up big tonight. If anyone deserves it, it’s him.”

The shutout makes seven-plus periods of scoreless hockey overseen by Green in the playoffs, after a first-round blanking of Salesianum. He had plenty of help, for sure, but the Lions won a war of attrition, with Green as the last line of defense time and time and time again.

He kept O’Hara even in the first period, despite Judge controlling play with a 9-3 edge in shots. The Crusaders kept pouring it on in the second, with the teams alternating stretches of control but Judge having the better of it. The Crusaders also had a 15-13 edge in shots in the first overtime, 17 nervy minutes in which Green kept his cool.

“I try not to think about it,” Green said. “I just try making the next save. The crowd was definitely chirping tonight. I try to block that out and make the next save. And I think I did pretty well at that.”

He got plenty of help, with Bode Peterson and John Shelton, in particular, excellent in defense. Peterson disrupted a dangerous 3-on-1 in the first period, and Melito interrupted a pair of dangerous rushes with perfectly-timed back checks.

Green was particularly clean to reduce chaos around the cage. When the puck hit his glove, it stayed there. When Judge aimed high, he used his blocker to paddle it to safety. He tracked changes of direction well, from the bevy of deflected shots – Judge blueliners Devon Mallon and Ilya Kudzinau fired at will from the point. His best save may have come on a 3-on-2 in the first period, moving side-to-side to smother a shot by the trailing Matthew Devine. And he made a tremendous snag of a Colin Myers wrist shot just before the winning goal.

But the fact that Green made so many of those stops look routine told the true tale. So did the stick-scuff marks on the boards in front of the O’Hara bench from his cheering teammates after so many momentum-charging stops.

“When he comes up with those big saves, it pumps everyone up,” Melito said. “It makes everyone work harder, because we know he has our back so we have to have his back.”

Melito didn’t need energizing, with a dozen or more quality chances. He couldn’t solve Judge goalie Colin McKee through four periods, with the senior sensational in his own right with 33 saves.

The Lions came up empty on four power-play chances, despite Melito crashing the net. One faceoff play where Melito won the draw forward in the third had McKee looking behind him for a loose puck that was in front of his pad, but he covered before it could be jammed home.

Julian Gavin rang the crossbar on a rush in the first, and Patrick Roney was robbed when he tried to punch his follow up over a falling McKee, only for the goalie to stretch out his glove hand and paw it out of the air.

O’Hara killed a penalty to start the second overtime, Melito in the box for hooking. The best chance on it came from Nathan Fox on a shorthanded semi-breakaway.

Despite rolling four lines early, Father Judge wore down late. Michael McDevitt, who had two goals and two assists when Judge won the first meeting, left in the first overtime when he got away with a trip to lead to a scoring chance but exited with a cut under his jaw. Matthew Moser, Judge’s most dangerous and fluid skater, left later in that period after an awkward but clean hip-to-hip collision at center ice.

When Michael Fontaine got his stick stuck in the skates of Braeden Janson six minutes into the second OT, the Lions wasted no time. The draw was won back to Gavin at the point, who found Fox on the half-boards. He heard the stick tap of Melito at the back door, threaded a pass through the slot and watched Melito throw his hands skyward, roofing the puck nine seconds into the man advantage and setting off the celebrations.

“I didn’t even know I scored,” Melito said. “I just saw everyone going crazy and once it clicked, it just was a surreal feeling and I went nuts.”

It’s the second time O’Hara has beaten Judge this season in overtime, the other one a 6-5 affair decided by Gavin in February. The overtime status is the only thing those games shared in common.

The ensuing levels of jubilation speaks volumes about its two main protagonists.

“It’s an amazing feeling, especially losing two years in a row, it was just a great feeling to beat them,” Melito said. “Especially when their crowd was chanting at us all night.”

“I give a sigh of relief,” Green said. “After the whole game, I’m giving it my all. For the team to come through and put one in, it definitely feels really, really good.”