HAMILTON-WENTWORTH CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
Celtic Boys Reclaim Hockey Title

Two teams with a maple leaf on the front of their jersey competed for separate major hockey championships Thursday.

One of those teams, of course, was Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off in Boston.

The other was Bishop Ryan Celtics, who defeated the St. John Henry Newman Cardinals, 5-3, in a Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic high school final at Dave Andreychuk Arena.

For the past four years, all BR players have sported a prominent red maple leaf flag patch stitched to their green sweaters.

No other Hamilton Catholic team wears national identification.

"We do it because we play in a lot of tournaments against American teams," Bishop Ryan coach Justin Cannon said. "It's nice to show pride for the country you represent."

The Celtics, who last captured the league trophy in 2023, got two goals by Colton Vanderelzen and singles by Michael Alford, Levi Snider and Colin Barricelli.

Newman replied with a hat trick by Dom Fidanza.

Bishop Ryan won back-to-back titles in 2022 and '23 before being upset by the fourth-place St. Thomas More Knights in a semifinal last season.

"A lot of these guys were here last year and they felt the heartache," the Celtics coach said. "It's been our mission to reclaim the throne. We're happy after last year's letdown."

First-place finishers during the regular schedule, BR broke a 1-1 tie early in the second period with a pair of goals by winger Vanderelzen. They were similar plays because both resulted from faceoffs in the Newman zone to the right of goaltender Alessio Menegazzo.

"My centreman, Thomas Daszko, won the draw right to me," Vanderelzen said. "I saw a clear lane and rifled it right at the net."

Those linemates executed a similar set play from the same spot to give the Celtics a 3-1 lead.

"Those goals were scored within about a minute of each other and it gave them momentum," Newman coach Matt Pritchard said.

A power-play goal by Fidanza narrowed the gap before Alford also connected on the power play to make the score 4-2 after two periods.

In the third, Snider flipped in a shorthanded marker before Fidanza scored again on a breakaway with just over six minutes remaining.

"Newman is never out of a game," the Celtics coach said. "They're resilient. We knew that even with the lead it would be tough."

The second-place Cardinals and the Knights split their two regular-season meetings.

"They were the better team today," Pritchard said. "It's always a tight game against these guys."

Cannon said the goals from faceoffs were key to the outcome. And he pointed out that the Celtics spent time at practice recently focusing just on that skill.

"We worked on it," he said. "We had the guy coming off the wall just ripping the shot right off the hop."

Before leaving the rink after the season finale, Vanderelzen was asked about the 4 Nations Face-Off. "I hope Canada can bring home the 'W'," he said. "I'm cheering for (Connor) McDavid. He's my favourite player."

Canada defeated the United States, 3-2, in overtime on a goal by McDavid.

The next action for BR will be a Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference AAA semifinal on March 3. The opponent from Halton will be either Milton Bishop Reding or Oakville Holy Trinity.

Other members of the Celtics this season included Brady Guimond, Ben Kingston, Brett MacQueen, Carter Breau, Mason Hunks, Jett Metaxas, Marcus Muraca, David Horvat, Luke Della Maestra, Spencer Moores, Rocco Pingue, Cameron Schweitzer, Jack Boyd, Nicholas Lagges, Justin Vidal, Henry Barrett, Carter Brennan, Gabriel Nazy, Lucas Underhill, Jonathan Haskett, Kane Bazinet, Luca Alfieri, Jace Folz, Taylor Charlton, Liam Woodruff and Marcus LoPresti.

See Photos on the HWCDSB Athletics Facebook Page.