Stingy defense propels Vikings to 5-0

The Francis Howell Vikings just keep finding ways to win games.  They showed that again Saturday night, starting their third goalie of the season, Freshman Brendan Pillarick, who lead the team to a 2-0 win over Fort Zumwalt West in a St. Charles Conference matchup.

Pillarick turned away all 11 shots he faced as the Vikings defense never really allowed West to generate any type of sustained offensive pressure. Offensively, the Vikings peppered the West goal tender with 35 shots.

Freshman forward Nolan Manzella opened the scoring at 13:10 of the first period, taking a feed from Junior Alex Griffith to put Howell up 1-0.  Both Manzella and Griffith would finish the game with 2 points each.

The game stayed 1-0 until Senior forward Pearce King banged home a rebound to make it 2-0 Howell.  Manzella started the play with a pass to Alex Griffith, whose shot rebound straight onto the stick of King with 5:57 left in the game.

West pulled their goalie in the final minutes, but the Vikings held on, preserving the shutout.

Francis Howell is in the middle of a very busy week of hockey. Howell will play 5 games in the next 10 days. The Vikings (5-0-0) return to the ice Monday night as they host Fort Zumwalt East (4-2-0). Game time is 9:10 pm at the Rec Plex.