Page 8 Jersey Sporting News • 2/13/18 - 3/5/18
Ciaran McNelis is the Anchor in Goal for Red Bank Catholic By John Sorce
RED BANK – When senior goaltender Ciaran McNelis walks across the stage at graduation, he will go down as the best goalkeeper the Red Bank Catholic hockey program has ever seen.
By John Sorce
MIDDLETOWN – Middletown Ice World has been a popular place this winter, as it plays home ice to two of the top teams in the Shore Conference, one being Middletown South.
“I think that’s a no-brainer. He’d be number one at the top,” Red Bank Catholic head coach Joe Zdeb said. “I know a lot of the guys who have played because I run an alumni game and there are some guys who come back and over my five years, we’ve had some good guys that won some Shore Conference titles because of good goaltending. But hands down, he’s by far the best. “He actually asked me earlier in the year what the all-time saves record was. I went back and I’ve tried to find some of it, and from what I’ve found, he’s way above that. I don’t have all the stats, but he’s above and beyond everyone else.” McNelis got a handful of starts on the varsity level as a sophomore, but has really taken off since becoming the starter in his junior year. “The last couple of years have just been remarkable in terms of what he
RED BANK CATHOLIC’S CIARAN McNELIS has been able to do,” Zdeb said. “He’s had several 50-save games over the last two years and I think it’s the consistent play that he brings to every practice and every game. He’s just focused and at the top of his game.” One performance that sticks out this year was in a 2-2 tie against Wall on Jan. 10, a game that saw McNelis save 50 out of 52 shots against one of the top offenses in the state. “When you look at those kind of games, there’s probably 6-8 saves that are easy goals on any other goalie in the state,” Zdeb said. “Not to say anything negative about them, but there are some shots that should be nobrainer empty-netters and he doesn’t make one or two of those saves; he makes a half dozen to a dozen of them.”
RED BANK CATHOLIC’S CIARAN McNELIS Photos by: Tom Smith
MIDDLETOWN SOUTH LED BY TRIO OF DYNAMIC SENIORS
McNelis focuses solely on hockey in high school and plays outside of school with the New Jersey Titans AAA team. He is hoping to play junior hockey after high school, but is also planning to attend college at Quinnipiac and just focus on academics. “He’s not only a remarkable athlete, but also a remarkable young man,”
Zdeb said. “I find that really impressive because he probably has a shot if he continues to pursue playing and I find it crazy that someone of his talent isn’t already picked up by somebody. I find it remarkable that he’s willing to move forward in terms of college and life.” Zdeb played at Red Bank Catholic himself from 1998-2001, and is fifth alltime in points with 131 (50 goals, 81 assists). He knows what it means to put on that Caseys uniform, and McNelis exemplifies it better than anyone. “One of the things that we try to preach in the RBC hockey program is that there’s an RBC hockey way,” Zdeb said. “There’s pride about playing for RBC and a tradition and things of that nature and he exemplifies that. He does really well in his travel program with the Titans, but I think he’s really proud to play for RBC. He carries himself on and off the ice really well. He’s a good mentor to the younger guys and he’s the first goalie in RBC hockey history to wear the ‘C.’ That was a big deal when I first came on as an assistant coach; you wouldn’t see a goaltender as captain, just because you couldn’t talk to the refs and things. I see it as a leadership position and he’s definitely earned that and carried it well.”
With a 14-4-2 overall record and a 5-2-2 mark in divisional play, Middletown South finished in fourth place in Shore Conference A North behind crosstown rival Middletown North, Saint John Vianney and Wall. The Eagles claimed the No. 4 seed MIDDLETOWN SOUTH’S in the Shore Conference Tour- #21 DEVEN RALPH nament’s Handchen Cup and claimed a first-round shutout Ralph leads that attack with a teamvictory over No. 13 seed Manala- leading 25 goals and 20 assists for pan, 3-0. a total of 45 points. Nick Lioudakis has 17 goals and 25 assists for 42 The Eagles and Lions play twice dur- points, and Mike Racioppi has 13 ing the regular season. Middletown goals and a team-leading 28 assists South won the first meeting on Nov. for 41 total points. 28, 3-2, to begin the regular season. The two teams also closed out Sophomore defender Demitri Fothe regular season in the Mayor’s rand has tallied 21 points (five Cup on Feb. 6. The game ended in goals, 16 assists) and senior forward a 4-4 tie, so both teams can claim to Craig Bahrs has 15 points (10 goals, be owners of the Cup in 2018. five assists). The Eagles possess a lot of firepower on offense, starting with a trio of senior forwards who have all tallied over 40 points this season. Deven
In goal, the Eagles possess a duo of juniors in Clay Simonsen and Adam Bloodgood. Simonsen has 219 saves this season and has a save percentage of 90 percent, while Bloodgood has 147 saves and an 85 save percentage.
MIDDLETOWN SOUTH’S #35 ADAM BLOODGOOD Photos by: Tom Smith
Middletown South looks to keep its run in the Shore Conference Tournament going when it plays No. 5 seed Jackson Memorial in the semifinal round of the Handchen Cup at Jersey Shore Arena in Wall. The Eagles defeated Jackson Memorial, 8-4, on Jan. 30 in the only other meeting this season between the two teams.
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