March 16, 1999
The O’Hara goalie’s conservative style has helped put him and his team into the postseason.
In the high-stakes game of chicken, two cars go barreling toward each other at great speed until one driver “chickens out,” swerving out of the way of the other car. Andrew McManus likes to play chicken on ice. The Cardinal O’Hara hockey goalie will feign aggressiveness so that he can get an onrushing shooter to commit. The junior then retreats to the safety of his goal crease and makes the save. While other young goalies tend to wander out of the crease and react to opposing offensive players by trying to cut down their shooting angles, McManus is poised enough not to let instincts control him. He prefers to react to the shooter. At 5-foot- 7 and 165 pounds, he’s not a big goalie, but opponents find it hard to get shots past him. McManus compiled a league-leading save percentage of 887%, as well as a league-best goals-against average of 2.75 while chalking up a 10-3-2 record in helping O’Hara secure the Eastern League Class AAA title. The Lions beat Monsignor Bon- ner, 4-2, to capture the best-of-three Eastern League Class AAA finals last week and are poised to enter Flyers Cup play Monday against Central Dauphin, the No. 1 team from Central Pennsylvania, at the Skatium in Havertown at 8 p.m. It has been a season to cherish for McManus, except for one thing: He was not picked as the Eastern League’s goalie of the year. That honor went to Episcopal Academy’s Brian Aronchick. “I think I got ripped off a little there,” McManus said. “I accept that Aronchick is a big part of Episco- pal’s team, but they didn’t have that great a year. He’s a senior, and he’s better known than I am. He has better skills than me, from what I understand. “I just think I got ripped off. I think it was his reputation that helped him. I was a little upset about it. I try not to let it bother me, but it still does. “But, hey, I am still playing. Aronchick’s team is out. I’ll take the trade-off. I’m fine. I’ll sacrifice a trophy or a plaque to keep going. It’s good to be recognized as an
individual, but it’s a great accomplishment to make it to the state playoffs.” O’Hara might not have made it anywhere this season were it not for the play of McManus, especially early in the season. The Lions were struggling offensively, and it was McManus who was carrying them. “Andrew really picked things up early this season,” Lions coach Bill Swahl said. “We got outshot a handful of games, and he flat-out got it done by making great saves. I would say Andrew was our cornerstone this season when we were struggling early on. He was the one who held us together.” McManus was not supposed to be counted on at least early in the season. After having played a backup role in his freshman and sophomore years, he entered this season without a guaranteed starting spot. Swahl thought McManus was a solid if unspectacular goalie until McManus started making some marvelous saves. McManus has developed a flamboyant style, flicking a leg out at the last moment to make a pad save or snapping his glove when he makes a glove save. In a 2-2 tie against Malvern, McManus steered away 15 shots in the third period. In one sequence, with Malvern bombarding him, he made a save, but the rebound went right to a Malvern player who immediately fired. Falling backward, McManus stuck a leg in the air, deflecting the puck up and over the net with his skate blade. Even though McManus has made several stops like that this season, he would prefer to read and react to opposing shooters. “I think I’m comfortable being conservative,” he said. “As far as breakaways, I like the shooter to beat me instead of me coming out of the crease and getting myself out of position. “Sometimes you get burned when you’re conservative. If you’re back in the net, it gives a shooter a lot more to look at. I’ll play aggressively if I have to, but, generally, I’m more conservative than other goalies around.” All McManus knows is that it works for him and he’s still playing.
