Ice Hockey: Ridley’s Catona pushes through death of his mom to finish incredible season

RIDLEY TWP. >> It was a signature Nick Catona goal. As a young man short on words, the senior had a habit of arriving unannounced in dangerous scoring areas.

The score stood 3-3 in overtime of the 2016 Central League championship game between Ridley and Springfield. Catona helped the Green Raiders reach OT with a goal and the game-tying assist.

Standing among the rabid Cougars faithful, Tony Catona, Nick’s older brother, hit record on his phone’s camera as Nick broke down the left wall early in the extra period. Two Springfield defenders buried him in the corner, leaving the winger out of the play.

Tony’s home video captures the aftermath of that collision. Nick shows up again at the 5-second mark as he glides uncovered to the side of the net. Louder than he would ever shout, he bangs his stick on the ice three times. Michael Giampapa, the silky smooth center on Ridley’s top line, feathers a pass across the crease and Nick slams it home to trigger pandemonium.

Catona’s winner gave the Green Raiders their first Central League crown. His teammates tackled him against the glass as Tony’s camera continued to roll. On the Ridley bench, assistant Mike Cassidy fought off tears. Head coach Stephane Charbonneau lost that fight.

“I’m an very emotional person,” says the former Quebec Nordique. “I may not look it. I was crying. I’m a human, too.”

The goal-scorer induced the tears as much as the championship did. Catona lost his mother to cancer in December. Margaret “Maggie” Catona was 47 years old.

“I usually talk to the guys after every game. I let Nick speak first,” recalls Charbonneau. “He did it for his mother. That’s the first thing he said. I knew she was watching.”

Catona’s constant smile hid the emotional strife of the past two years. Maggie was diagnosed in March of 2014 and struggled in her fight against the deadly disease.

“She was a social butterfly,” remembers Tony of his step-mother. He and Nick share a father. “Wherever she was, she was the life of the party. After she was diagnosed, she didn’t want to go anywhere. It was really difficult to see.”

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