Judge Memorial repeats as state hockey champions

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The 2013 Judge Memorial UHSAA 3A state champion hockey team celebrates its trophy after beating Viewmont High School in the final game of the tournament. Courtesy photo/JMCHS

SALT LAKE CITY — The Judge Memorial Catholic High School hockey team won its second UHSAA 3A state championship title in a row at the Salt Lake City Sports Complex Feb. 26 with a 5-2 victory over Viewmont High School.

Judge Memorial extended its winning streak to 32 games, which goes back to last season’s opening game against Skyline High School, in which the two schools tied.

To advance to the state championship game, the undefeated Bulldogs battled undefeated Uintah in the semi-final game and edged them out with a 5-4 victory at Steiner Ice Arena Feb. 22. Senior Brian Kestle scored the game-winning point with 2:07 minutes left in regulation play. Seniors Nick O’Cain and Sam Taylor led the way for Judge Memorial in the semi-final game with each scoring two goals and an assist.

"The final game was a tightly-fought match for the first period and we expected that," said Anthony Musci, Judge Memorial head hockey coach, adding that Viewmont is traditionally strong in the sport and had come into the playoffs with a loss. "Viewmont came with a lot of energy in the first period trying to turn the game to their advantage, but Judge withstood that by scoring early."

O’Cain scored four straight goals following a 1-1 tie after the first period.

"Once [Viewmont] had to play catch-up, our very good, talented defense was able to take over and protect our lead," said Musci. "The score was 5-1 and Viewmont made a late goal, but we held them with a 5-2 final score."

Judge Memorial advancement director Dan Quinn congratulated Musci on his back-to-back championship. "It says a lot for the character of the team," he said. "They lost three good players last year and the group of juniors, now seniors, played well as a team; they did not have one individual star that dominated the whole season. The first- and second-tier teams came in and did a great job."

Senior Marshall Wallace, as goalie, did a phenomenal job, "especially during the state game," said Quinn. "It took a full team to take state and Taylor, O’Cain, and Jack Keller (a senior) and Ben Keller (a freshman) collectively did a great job. On any given day, any one of them was on top of his game and that really made a difference. That goes with coaching because their ice time for practice is at 5:30 in the morning and they play anywhere from 8 p.m. to 10 at night sometimes. Hockey is a tough sport, especially trying to keep up on academics. It was great to watch them take state."

Musci said his team approached the final game with cautious confidence. "We never want to take anything for granted in playing teams that have talent and the psychology can be such a huge factor in a championship situation because you never know how that is going to play out. Viewmont is a well-coached team and we congratulate them on an outstanding season."

The past two years have been an incredible run for Judge Memorial hockey, said Musci. "It’s been anchored by a talented, deep seated class of 11 seniors who will graduate this year from the team. We feel like they have helped establish a legacy of excellence and winning the right way at Judge and we’re excited to take that legacy and move forward."