By Larry Moko
High school hockey seems to be a family affair for the St. Thomas More Knights.
There were four sets of brothers on the bench at Morgan Firestone Arena when More defeated the St. Jean de Brébeuf Braves, 4-2, in a quarter-final playoff hockey game Tuesday.
The Knights are coached by Gino Leone in association with his brother, Mike -- a newly-hired teacher. And among the players, siblings include the Bistoyongs (Adam and Cain), the Griffins (Mac and Fynn) and the Paveos (Orlando and Levi).
"The Bistoyong brothers are a defence pairing," Leone said. "One is in Grade 9, the other in Grade 11. It's nice they can play together in high school because they never got to do that while growing up."
The Griffins, however, skate on the same forward line for both the Knights and their Double A rep team.
"So it's nice to have the chemistry they bring," Leone added.
Goals for third-place More were shared by Logan Slack, Ryan Hedgcock, Xavier Filice and Liam Ryerson.
Sandro Guttaiano replied with a pair for sixth-place Brébeuf, including one from the top of the crease to make it 3-2 early in the third period.
Ryerson then intercepted a pass and slid an insurance marker into the empty net with 42 seconds left on the clock.
"It was a pretty even game," Leone said. "We have similar styles of play. It could have gone either way."
Filice's goal, which came while More was playing a man short, was met with celebration at the end of the shift.
"We were happy for him," the More coach said. "Xavier didn't score many goals this year so we were rooting for him to get one. And that was a big goal. Probably the biggest of the year for us."
It's the Grade 11 student's third year on the team.
Said Leone: "Xavier picked up speed through the neutral zone and he was able to snipe the top corner. I'm proud of him for pulling that off."
Brébeuf returned to the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic league this season after a one-year absence and was a competitive entry. The Braves record during the regular schedule was 1-6-3.
"For the season as a whole we're very happy with the way things played out," Brébeuf coach Nick Bruccoleri said."We're proud of the effort the boys gave.
"The shorthanded goal today definitely was a killer."
The Braves and Knights tied both of their regular-season meetings (3-3 and 2-2). And, in total, More tied five of its 10 starts.
"We don't really have any superstars," the Knights coach said. "We're all basically similar in our level of play. So its win by committee.
"With the parity of the league we find ourselves in close games and, as a result we're tying a lot of games. More than we usually do."
The Knights advance to a semifinal Thursday, Feb. 12 against second-place Newman (5-3-2). In the other semi, the first-place Bishop Ryan Celtics (8-2) will face the fourth-place Crusaders (4-4-2).
St. Mary took its quarter-final, 6-3, over the fifth-place Bishop Tonnos Titans (2-6-2).
Newman and Bishop Ryan earned opening-round playoff byes.
Photos by R.F. (Bob) Butrym, RFB Sport Photography
More photos on HWCDSB Athletics Facebook page
