Challenge Cup: Eureka Suffers Tough Ending to Great Season

Despite the way the season ended on the scoreboard, the Eureka High School Wildcats made huge steps this year with their hockey program.

The CBC Cadets are playing in top form at the perfect time, and won their series with Eureka with a 10-0 win on Feb. 12. CBC had nine different goal scorers, and the Cadets moved to the semifinals of the Challenge Cup.

Since the program’s inception in 2002, this was only the second time Eureka made it to the Challenge Cup tournament.  It was the first time they made it to the second round.

“Our program has been steadily building over the past few years and expectations are high now,” said Eureka coach Kevin Markovitz. “This was the best season in our program’s history, and we hope to continue our success as a Challenge Cup team in the postseason.”

Eureka’s 10 seniors were a major reason why the Wildcats made it to the second round of the Challenge Cup, with some of them being in the program for six years starting as junior high students.

“I spoke to the seniors and told them I was very proud to coach them this year,” Markovitz said. “They brought a lot of heart and leadership, and I’m not sure I’ll ever have a team like this again.”

Eureka’s top five leading point scorers (Kenny Janssen, Clay Link, Greg Ormson, Matt Hoffman, Teddy Jones) were all seniors.

Now, CBC is gearing up to play Webster Groves in the Challenge Cup semifinals. The Statesmen, a No. 12-seed, are a veteran team, and already have proven they can knock off high seeds in the Challenge Cup tournament.

CBC defeated Eureka 5-1 in Game 1 of their series, and dominated both games throughout. Among the Cadets who scored in Game 2 was senior captain defenseman Brennan Devers. The 2009 champs had 33 shots while only yielding a staggering seven shots on their way to a shutout. CBC has outscored its opponents 26-1 in four games in the first two rounds of the Challenge Cup tournament.

CBC has something to prove after losing to DeSmet in last year’s Challenge Cup final in overtime. The Cadets have won seven of the last 10 Challenge Cups, but are hungry as ever for the 2011 title after the way last season ended.