A Decisive Victory

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Jake Kapp, Staff Writer

For the fourth time in as many years, the University School hockey team advanced to the Final Four down in Columbus. For their opponent, the Walsh Jesuit Warriors, the matchup was anything but fair. From the skaters to the student section, Walsh was outmanned.
US was coming off an exciting 5-4 win over fierce rival Shaker Heights, and it was clear they were battle ready once they stepped on the ice. Walsh, however, had not been tested yet. Their post-season run consisted of a 9-0 pummeling of Aurora, a 6-3 victory over Kenston, and a 4-0 win over Mentor. Immediately, anyone could tell that the Warriors were overwhelmed with the grittiness of US’s play.
Junior Jack Henry Muha opened up the scoring on an odd-man rush, but the Preppers really broke things open in the second period. Junior Henry Saada netted his first of the game just 17 seconds into the period, with an assist from Senior captain Ethan Whetstone. Later in the period, Muha scored his second, followed by a goal from Freshman Nick Flowers, putting the Preppers up 4-1. In the third period, Senior Adam Alt fired one home, and Saada provided the dagger, sniping one to the top left corner. The final score of the game was 6-2.
Walsh Jesuit’s student section paled in comparison to that of the Preppers’. The American-themed US Student Section nearly doubled Walsh’s. For most of the game, they were silent, and when they did cheer, it was so weak that they were practically inaudible. The US Student Section, on the other hand, had its rowdiest night of the year. Immediately following Saada’s first goal, the crowd erupted into “Fence City” chants, saluting the Junior’s Scholastic Art Awards honorable mention. Perhaps the loudest moment of the game came when Muha absolutely flattened an opposing player in the open-ice, then stared him down in a James Harden-esque fashion. The student section went nuts, screaming as the Walsh player stumbled back to his feet, shamefully skating back to the bench. With ten minutes left in the game, the student section was already chanting, “Start the buses!” Without a doubt, the discrepancy in student sections favored the Preppers, giving them an extra boost in such a decisive victory.