St. Paul's senior center David Cornbrooks is used to being followed by opposing defensemen.
Last Friday at Patterson Park Ice Rink, one of those defensemen was very familiar to him. It was his younger brother, Peter, a sophomore from Gilman.
David scored the first and last goals in St. Paul's 3-1 Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference victory. Craig Andrzejewski scored the Crusaders' other goal.
"I'm sure they had a little pride thing going on," said St. Paul's first-year coach Eric Nordstrom. "David's one of the best players in the conference, and Peter isn't quite there yet. He's a good player in his own right, however."
The game was the second time the brothers have met on the ice. Last year, St. Paul's defeated Gilman to advance to the MIAA B Conference playoffs, but Peter had a lesser role on the team.
The brothers admit there is a rivalry going.
"We were kind of going after each other," said David, his team's captain. "We're brothers, but on the ice it's all business."
Peter said it's easier to play against his brother than other players.
"I know his tendencies a little better," said Peter, who will get another chance to play his brother Jan. 24.
Nancy Cornbrooks, the boys' mother, said: "I would have preferred if they were on the same team. I was hoping the game would end in a tie, and no one would get hurt."
Nancy said seeing the boys on the ice has helped her deal with the sudden death of her husband, Bruce, earlier this year.
"They love to play hockey, and Bruce used to love to watch them play," she said. "He would have been real proud of them both."
Cardiac Cards
Calvert Hall got two goals late in games last week to force a win and a tie in two key games.
Last Wednesday, junior winger Mike Anderson scored from short range to break a 2-2 tie and propel the Cardinals to a 3-2 victory over archrival Loyola at Patterson Park Ice Rink. The next day, freshman center David Bonnett scored on a penalty shot with 1:37 left to tie Montgomery County's highly regarded Winston Churchill, 4-4, at Ice World in Edgewood.
Senior winger Trevor Shipley had a natural hat trick, scoring Calvert Hall's first three goals, against the Bulldogs.
"Since this was an MSHL game, we really didn't know what to expect," said Cardinals coach Mike Shramek. "To beat your rival in a conference game on one night and a team like [Churchill] the next night was big for us."
Unfamiliar territory
Last Friday, Mount St. Joseph's Tier II team experienced a first: It lost.
The Tier II Gaels, in their second year, went 11-0-1 last year en route to the MSHL's Chesapeake Cup. They won their first game this year, but a late goal by Good Counsel put them on the short end of a 3-2 result at the Wheaton Ice Rink. Junior Andrew Carver and freshman Matt MacQuilliam scored for the Gaels in the loss.
"They took it to us," said Gaels coach John Poisal. "We've been very successful, but maybe our kids will learn from this."
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