March 25, 1982
City
If you want to see how the British did it in the 1920s, go see Chariots of Fire. A handshake for the winner and a stiff upper lip for the loser. If you want to see how Philadelphians do it in the 1980s, go see an Archbishop Ryan-Bishop Egan ice hockey game. Last week, the clubs. battled through a best-of-three series for the Lower Bucks County League title and a berth in the Flyers Cup
tournament. Egan’s high scorer to Ryan’s goalie: “You stink, Craven!”
Ryan’s goalie to Egan’s high scorer after stoning him on a breakaway: (Laughter). Vinnie Craven got a chance to laugh several times in the series, including last. Second-place Ryan (16-6-1 going in) stunned first-place Egan (19-1), rallying to win the final two games after dropping the opener. It was Craven, a high-spirited sophomore playing only his second year of organized hockey, who held Egan (with five of the league’s top 10 scorers) to three goals in the two games. Then he went out Monday night and helped Ryan shock Germantown Academy, 7-3, in the Flyers Cup opener. The victory ended GA’s 25-game win streak and made Craven The Inquirer’s City Athlete of the Week. “I stay on my feet as much as I can,” Craven said, “but late in the third game, Egan came on pretty strong. I was diving all over the place.
“There was a lot of cursing, a lot of slashing. The top scorer for Egan transferred over from Ryan because he thought they’d have a better shot at the Flyers Cup. I figured, ‘If he starts, I’ll give it back to him.” Goalies often become goalies because they cannot skate well. The reason Vinnie Craven became a goalie is…well, somebody had to be. “We were playing street hockey,” he said. “We never had anybody who wanted to be goalie. The guys were saying, ‘Somebody get in there.’ I said, ‘I’ll try it,’ and I just stuck with it.”
The original
