Knocking off a juggernaut is hard work ? a lesson Wolves hockey learned on March 11 in their 3-1 loss in their state semifinal matchup with Detroit Catholic Central.
‘We ended the season well We have nothing to be ashamed of. We gave everything that we had. I thought we played a very good game,? said Clarkston Coach Bryan Krygier.
Trailing 2-0 with :21.1 remaining in the second period, junior Kyle Cummings? laser shot from the point put Clarkston on the scoreboard and hope in their loyal fans hearts. Yet the opposite side of the arena was the next to cry thunder as CC’s Harrison Niemann punctured the Wolves defense, emerged all alone in front of the Clarkston net and like a hammer on a nail drove the puck into the back of the net.
‘We play a lot more confident with a two goal lead than with a one goal lead,? said Catholic Central Coach Todd Johnson. ?(Clarkston) is one of the top five teams in the state irrespective of class. We knew we were going to have a real battle on our hands tonight.?
The flow of the game, especially in the first period, was stunted by a rash of penalties. After CC’s Colin Ronaye was taken to the lockeroom wih an arm injury at 1:43 of the first period.
‘We were able to pop in one extra power play goal. (Clarkston) got one and we got two. That may have been the difference in the game, special teams. Maybe it was just the bounce of the puck, but we got that extra power play goal,? said Johnson.
Both the Wolves and the Shamrocks dug hard for loose pucks, battled along the boards and left everything on the ice, but too often the crowd’s mouths hung open due to an official’s whistle rather than a superb play on the ice
In the first period alone, three Clarkston players and two Shamrock skaters were sent to the box for two-minute minor infractions. Due to the penalties being issued in a tight cluster, Clarkston only got :17 on the powerplay to CC’s 1:12. But just over a minute was all the Shamrock’s needed as they netted their first goal with :21 seconds left in their man advantage, on a point blank shot from Mike Oakleaf which deflected off Clarkston senior goalie Michael Brach’s pads and flipped into the net.
‘The penalties affected the game a lot. That’s the problem with the officiating in the playoffs. They call everything all year long and now it’s a judgement call. It’s either a penalty or it’s not a penalty,? said Krygier.
The Shamrock’s Jason Lewarme got the eventual game winning goal at 12:08 of the second period on the powerplay. While the Wolves were able to get within scratching distance when Cummings scored with the Wolves up a man, the Catholic Central defense did not allow many quality chances throughout the rest of the game.
Brach had 20 saves, keeping Clarkston in the game with several key saves. Brach’s counterpart, Bryan Hogan, nabbed 17 pucks for the win.
Trevor Johns and Mike Fogg assisted on the lone Wolves tally.
Catholic Central claimed their fifth championship in six years by defeating East Kentwood on March 11, 4-0.
The Wolves will lose 11 seniors this year including leading scorers Fogg (46 points) and Johns (35 points). Clarkston will also lose seniors Adam Stoyek, Brach, Alex Handley, Bryan Morin, Eric Paddison, Dan Mutz, Mike Zak, Chris Degen and Steve Eddy next year.