Walsh helps Rams end state championship drought

Matt Metcalf
Posted 3/26/15

If you look at every championship hockey team, they typically have one thing in common.

Great goaltending.

Look no further than the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League, who have …

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Walsh helps Rams end state championship drought

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If you look at every championship hockey team, they typically have one thing in common.

Great goaltending.

Look no further than the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League, who have won two of the last three Stanley Cups behind the play of arguably the best goaltender in the world, Jonathan Quick.

Locally, in the title series of the Championship Division this past weekend, the eventual state champion, La Salle, rode the play of its goaltender to the school’s first Division I hockey championship in 38 years.

Tyler Walsh, of Warwick, finished the regular season with video game-like numbers, allowing just 10 shots by him in 590 minutes between the pipes. He registered a save percentage of .962 and a minuscule goals against average of 0.76.

I’ve seen some of the best goalies in the state make it to the state finals and crack under the pressure time and time again.

But there was something different about Walsh this season. He never showed any glimpse of not being in control of the game – always calm, cool and collected.

Walsh backed up his numbers throughout the season with three-straight standout performances on Friday, Saturday and Monday, earning the MVP Award.

Goaltenders aside, Hendricken seemed like the stronger team for a majority of the series, out-shooting the Rams by 34 over the three-game span.

But Walsh was a major roadblock for the Hawks’ offense and La Salle scored goals at opportune times to sink Hendricken.

Walsh’s .959 save percentage in the state championship series was on par with his save percentage for the regular season, as the senior stifled the Hawks by stopping 94 of their 98 shots on goal.

Not only was Walsh able to shoulder the burden of playing in front of a big crowd in the finals, but he was also able to end a significant school drought – a drought that went all the way back to before Mount St. Charles rattled off its streak of 26-straight crowns.

The feat was something that Walsh had been working for over his four years and, now that it had finally happened, the feeling was surreal.

“Your whole high school career, this is what you work for,” Walsh said. “Especially this year – we knew we had a good chance this year, and we took (the championship) back to La Salle.”

It wasn’t easy, though.

After a 3-1 win in game one, Hendricken, with its back against the wall, battled back for a dramatic 2-1 overtime win in game two, with Ryan King beating Walsh over the glove from the slot.

The Hawks gave the Rams everything that they could handle. After all, it was the first championship hockey series between the Hawks and Rams. There was no way that the series wasn’t going to go to a third game.

“Bishop Hendricken was a great opponent and it was a hard-fought series,” Walsh said. “But towards the end, we came out on top.”

The Rams also got a big lift in the first minute of game three from Joe Manown, who buried a shot past Matt Kenneally 46 seconds into the opening period.

Getting an early lead in a game of that magnitude does wonders for a team’s confidence, which was key because the Rams knew that the Hawks were going to come out flying after their game-two win.

“We knew that both teams were going to come out hot,” Walsh said. “We wanted to match their intensity, and I think we did that well.”

Despite all of the times that the hockey team has fallen short in the last 38 years, La Salle had a tremendous fan section for all three games. That support helped La Salle throughout the peaks and valleys of the series.

“It’s a big number right there,” Walsh said of the 38-year drought. “I know that there were a couple of guys from the 1977 team that came out here. We represented much more than just the guys on the ice today, so it was great.”

After taking a backseat to Mount and others for nearly four decades, the 2014-15 Rams were able to make history on Monday night – and it wouldn’t have been possible without Walsh manning the crease.

“It’s unbelievable,” Walsh said. “In one word, it’s unbelievable. I can’t fathom how great it is.”

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