MARYLAND HEIGHTS — Jackson Fox’s post-goal celebration Saturday night was fitting.

After scoring a shorthanded goal in the third period, Fox skated towards the Spartans’ student section, went down to a knee and mimicked Superman showing the “S” on his chest.

“It just kind of came to me in the moment,” Fox said. “The students at De Smet have been showing up for our games these past couple days, so had to show them some love.”

The goal proved to be the dagger as De Smet went on to beat Marquette 4-1 in game 2 of their Mid-States Club Hockey Association Challenge Cup semifinal series at the Centene Community Ice Center.

De Smet (19-3-2 overall, 4-0-0 in the postseason) will play Chaminade (11-11-2, 3-0-1) in the championship game on Friday. The Spartans are seeking their third consecutive Challenge Cup and 17th overall.

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Fox has earned the reputation of putting on a superhero’s cape when De Smet needs it. He had a goal and an assist in the series-clinching win over the Mustangs and he has seven points (2 goals, 5 assists) in four postseason games.

“He was the best forward on the ice tonight,” De Smet coach Anthony Cappelletti said.

Thomas Pickett, Cole Heffington and Braden Tillitt also scored for De Smet. William Harbaugh made 15 saves.

Lekzin Young scored and Cooper Freeman made 25 saves for Marquette (11-8-5, 2-2-0).

Freeman kept Marquette even in a scoreless first period, despite De Smet outshooting the Mustangs 10-6. Freeman got his glove on a Heffington drive early in the frame and stoned Fox on a breakaway in the period’s final seconds.

“We knew we could score on them, but the bounces weren't going our way in the first period, so we knew we had to bear down and work harder and get to the net more,” Fox said. “So that's what we did.”

Pickett finally broke through for De Smet, corralling a bouncing puck and whipping it into the back of the net at the 5:45 mark of the second period.

“We knew they were going to come hard,” Cappelletti said. “They did come hard. Probably the first five minutes, they outplayed us. We settled into our game the second half of that first period. … Then once we got that first goal, we settled into it.”

Heffington made it 2-0 Spartans just 56 seconds later, chipping in the rebound off a Fox rush. The Heffington and Fox scoring combination has powered the De Smet offense.

“We played together for the last three years,” Heffington said. “We've always, you know, scored off each other.”

Both goals came right after Harbaugh made a dazzling save on a pointblank chance for Marquette’s Will Vendt.

The two quick goals put Marquette into a deep hole. The Mustangs entered the game in a must-win scenario after De Smet won 3-1 on game 1 on Friday.

Fox’s goal made that hole even deeper.

“Just playing as a team, everybody going together, everybody pulling on the same rope, that's just about it,” Fox said. “It's been the same for three years and all the seniors know it. And we're not going to win anything without being as a family.”

Young scored shortly after, but Marquette couldn’t get any closer as Tillitt capped it off with an empty netter for the Spartans.

De Smet won all three regular season meetings with Chaminade.

“They’re a totally different team,” Cappelletti said. “We played them three times, and not one time did we play them with the lineup they have now, with all their players healthy and going. They were the sixth seed and they've just upset the second and third seeds. … I'll enjoy the night tonight, then I'll start doing some video, but we'll have to be ready.”

Mid-States Challenge Cup semifinal hockey: De Smet 4, Marquette 1

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