The puck from the Division I boys ice hockey championship ended up where it spent a great deal of the game – with Bishop Guertin goalkeeper Dave O’Brien.

O’Brien notched his eighth shutout of the year to lead his team to a 3-0 victory over Bishop Brady, stopping 23 shots as the Cardinals won their second straight title.

After the game on Sunday, March 9, O’Brien stood in the corridors of the Verizon Wireless Arena – the championship plaque clutched in one hand, his glove on the other.

“Here, you kept it out of the net all game,” said a Guertin assistant coach, dropping the puck in his glove. “You deserve it.”

After a scoreless first period, the Cardinals grabbed a 1-0 lead when Eric Harries received the puck from Kyle Curry and worked it past Bishop Brady goalie Tyler Ingerson.

With 7:35 remaining in the second period, Harries returned the favor, setting Curry up for a goal to put Bishop Guertin ahead by two goals.

That lead was nearly cut in half late in the second period. With 37 seconds remaining in the period and O’Brien out of position, Bishop Brady’s Brooks Herrington had an open shot at the right side of the net, but O’Brien dove across the crease and made the glove save.

“I went down too early and just had to sprawl out for it, and it ended up in my glove,” said O’Brien. “Bishop Brady has a lot of great players up front, and my defense made it really easy for me.”

Bishop Guertin head coach Gary Bishop said he was as shocked as the rest of the raucous crowd in attendance to see the puck land in O’Brien’s glove.

“I saw the light, and then I thought what everyone else was thinking: how did he do that?” he said. “It’s really nothing new.”

Harries added his second goal of the game with 5:54 remaining to cap the scoring.

Bishop Guertin also defeated the Green Giant squad last year to earn the championship.

“Being in the title game back to back years is the upside, although obviously you don’t want to lose two in a row,” said Bishop Brady head coach Clint Edinger. “We’re still searching for that championship, but the future is bright, and we’re going to continue to get better.”

Bishop was at least as specific with his wish list for 2009.

“Another win would be alright,” he said with a smile.