St. Ignatius hockey defeats Benet Academy to win fourth straight Kennedy Cup

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St. Ignatius hockey and Benet Academy meet for the Kennedy Cup. After coming up short in the Blackhawk Cup state championship on Sunday, the Benet Redwings are back on the ice in search of their fifth Kennedy Cup title. St. Ignatius is just 1-3 against Benet this season, but a win tonight would give them four straight Kennedy Cup championships. Benet won the previous two in 2020 and 2021. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.

St. Ignatius Hockey and Benet open the Kennedy Cup with a 1-1 scoreline

Midway through the first period, Jimmy Doherty sends a shot on goal, it ricochets in the middle before Benjamin Ciesla is able to pull it in. Good goalkeeping has this one scoreless in the early going.

Just minutes later, Maxwell Meyer fires one towards the net and Brady Vacek deflects it in for the game’s first goal. The Wolfpack go on top 1-0 with six minutes to go in the first period.

Back on the other end, Nico DiCosola sends the puck toward the middle, Owen Ryle deflects it, and then Hudson Schlie finishes the play with the goal. The Redwings tie the game up at 1 with two minutes left in the period.

Wolfpack score five in a row to pull ahead from the Redwings

Now in the second period, the Wolfpack are working behind their own net. Jackson Steinlauf threads the needle with a long pass to Daniel Heidkamp and he goes up high for the score. The Wolfpack reclaim the lead at 2-1 early in the second period.

Just moments later, St. Ignatius is on the attack again. This time, Steinlauf finds Maxwell Meyer in front of the net and he wins the one-on-one battle with the goalie. St. Ignatius extends their lead to 3-1 with 14 minutes to play in the second.

Now with just two minutes to go in the second, Reid Pienta and Brady Vacek execute a quick give-and-go and Pienta puts another goal on the board for the Wolfpack. St. Ignatius is now up 4-1 as the second period nears its end.

On to the third period. Edmond Burke sends the puck off the boards and it skips ahead towards Maxwell Meyer. Meyer races ahead, moves to the center, and fires a quick shot right into the back of the net. His second goal of the night extends the Wolfpack lead to 5-1 with 12 minutes left in the game. St. Ignatius goes on to win the game 6-2, claiming the fourth consecutive Kennedy Cup. Jimmy Doherty wins Kennedy Cup MVP for the Wolfpack, while Benet’s Hudson Schlie wins Most Outstanding Player.

For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!