The Clarkston High School hockey team defeated Farmington, 10-5 on Thursday and beat Waterford Mott, 5-2, on Saturday to retain their ranking as the Number two high school hockey team in the state.
In the Thursday game, senior forward Steve Morin led the team with seven points on three goals and four assists. Adding to the attack were Mike Fogg with two goals and two assists; Adam Peters, with one goal and three assists; Trevor Johns, with three goals; Kyle Buzzo, with two assists, and Chris Degen, with a goal and an assist. Kyle Cummings, Ricky Spano, Danny Mutz, Matt Prasil, and Scott Cooley added solo assists.
With a goal from Mike Fogg, the Wolves started the scoring early in the first period. But both teams scored twice within the last 2-1/2 minutes of the period, giving CHS a 3-2 lead at intermission.
The Wolves dominated the second period, scoring four unanswered goals, two on the power play and one short handed.
But Farmington came on strong in the third stanza, firing 12 shots out of 21 shots on goalie Mike Broch and scoring three times. The Wolves then answered with three goals of their own to make the final score 10-5.
‘This is the game we needed to win to finish the first round of interleague play unbeaten,? said Bryan Krygier . ‘We controlled the play in the first two periods. Our players played unselfishly and scored some pretty goals on slick passing. But we were not playing responsible defense.?
The win capped off a tough week for the Wolves, who probably lost forward Bryan Morin for the season after a serious injury suffered in practice on December 30. While he was in the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital, his presence was still felt because his fellow players dedicated the game to him.
‘Bryan really wanted to beat Farmington,? Krygier said, ‘so his brother Steven decided he would lead the team to victory. With seven points, Steven upheld the Morin brothers? scoring touch as Clarkston hammered the Farmingon team.
Saturday’s game was typical of the Clarkston-Mott battle, and the 5-2 score doesn’t begin to tell the story of how close the game really was.
After the first period, the Wolves were on top, 1-0, on a scoring play from Johns with passes from Alex Handley and Adam Peters. But Mott came on strong in the second period, scoring two quick goals to take a 2-1 lead.
Then, midway in the second period, the Wolves were killing a penalty when Clarkston dumped the puck into Mott’s zone and goalie Nick Parrot left the net unattended to play the puck. Buzzo blocked the shot, wrapped around the net and hit an open Johns, who beat Parrot to tie the game at 2-2. A few minutes later, again in a shorthanded situation, Johns scored on a breakaway for a natural hat trick (three goals). It was his fourth goal of the night and 16th of the season.
‘Trevor has really stepped up the pace during the past couple of weeks in all aspects of his game,? Krygier said. Chris Degen sealed the victory with a shot from the left circle, with Steve Morin and Fogg assisting.
Clarkston had 37 shots on goal, while goalie Aaron Catanese faced 23 from Mott. The next game is Clarkston versus Bloomfield on Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. at the Detroit Skate Club.