Ice Hockey: Ridley’s Giampapa, Catona silent but deadly

ASTON >> Ridley’s Michael Giampapa heard Nick Catona shout. In any other setting, this would be a rare occurrence. Catona, and Giampapa for that matter, speaks only when they have to. And when they do, it’s only slightly audible. But during a game…

“Even though we’re quiet outside of hockey, in the rink it’s totally different,” Giampapa said. “He lets me know when he wants the puck. When he lets me know, I give it to him. And he usually finishes for us.”

On this occasion, with a one-goal lead over Springfield, Giampapa was tripped. As he lay prone on the ice, he saw Catona out of the corner of his eye. And he heard him. Giampapa chopped a pass in his linemate’s direction and Catona buried the breakaway. The two would connect again late in the third period to give the Green Raiders an impressive 4-2 win over the Cougars, avenging their lone loss of the season in the process. The duo has been at the forefront of Ridley’s success in 2015-16. Giampapa and Catona have combined for 44 goals and 103 points in 15 games.

“We played in middle school when I was in fifth grade and he was in seventh,” Giampapa said. “Ever since then we’ve been playing together. We’ve just clicked. It’s turned out to be a great thing.”

If Catona’s first goal demoralized the Cougars, his second defeated them. Springfield, down 3-1, went on the power play with 1:59 left in the game. Desperately needing a goal, the visitors instead misplayed a puck at the Raiders’ blue line. Giampapa and Catona raced the other way. The former crossed at the top of the circles, the latter picked up the puck behind him and beat Calin Losacco glove side.

The play cemented another superb offensive outing for Giampapa. He tallied three assists, including one on Steve Rubillo’s opener in the first period. The output comes in contrast to the role he played as a freshman a season ago.

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