Work in progress
KITTANNING — Norwin's Zach Stewart forgot his jersey. Fortunately, he didn't forget his abilities.
Stewart, wearing teammate Justin Oroukin's jersey in net Wednesday, made 23 saves and held off a determined Butler hockey squad 2-1 in PIHLClass AAA action Wednesday at the Belmont Complex.
"Zach played a great game," said Knights coach Denny Zeravica Jr. "He was a little jittery in the beginning, but he settled down."
"(Stewart) played really well," said Butler coach Joe Honzo. "He played extraordinary."
Stewart held the Tornado scoreless until 1:18 remaining when Zach Carben knocked the puck past Stewart off a Tanner Master assist in front of the net.
The Tornado had a two-man advantage thanks to a power-play opportunity as well as an extra attacker when Butler goalie Kris Rhodaberger was pulled.
With Butler trailing by one, the squad had a couple more chances, including a scrum in front of the Norwin net with 30 seconds left and a shot by Gereme Hensel with 20 seconds left that went just right of the goal.
After Norwin cleared the puck, Butler mounted a final charge, but couldn't get the puck past Stewart.
"The puck didn't seem to bounce our way (Wednesday)," said Honzo. "We didn't get the bounces. They got that fluky goal early and it comes right out in front."
The Knights (1-4) scored just 1:16 into the game when the puck hit the boards and slid slowly across the ice, where Josh Schweitzer swooped in and buried a shot past Rhodaberger for a 1-0 lead.
He almost doubled the lead three-and-a-half minutes later when he stole a pass and headed for a breakaway before his shot went over the net.
Norwin took a 2-0 lead with 6:02 left in the second period when Brandon Tomasic trickled a shot through Rhodaberger's knees from point-blank range.
Butler created more opportunities for itself in the second period, but Stewart made 12 of his 23 saves in that span.
Zeravica is hopeful the win will be a building block for his young team.
"There's a good feeling in the locker room, the first time all year the kids aren't hanging their heads," said Zeravica. "Everyone is joking around. It's good for the kids."
The game also showed Butler is pulling itself back up to playing a competitive brand of hockey. But, Honzo knows there's still a lot of work to be done.
"We were pleased how hard the kids played," said Honzo. "We're just fighting tradition. The toughest mountain to climb is when you have a chance to win and you're waiting for something bad to happen."
Notes: Butler was 1-for-3 in power-play chances while Norwin was 0-4. Rhodaberger made 14 saves, including eight in the third period.
