GOODRICH- The Martian Hockey team has hit some rough patches in the season, but are keeping their chins up nonetheless.
“We are really looking forward to the end of the season and to districts,” Coach Bob Briscoe said.
“We have gone through some team turmoil, and have just lost our captain, so the group has had to come together as a smaller unit and are basically starting over,” he said. “Which is good because we want to go into the end of the season fresh, hungry and healthy.”
Despite a new look late in the season, the team is still racking up the wins. Goodrich increased its record to 12-7-0 overall with a league win against Lake Fenton on Feb. 5.
In the 5-1 home victory, junior Lance Keene executed well all game and positioned himself in front of the net for four goals. He was assisted by Ryan Mortimer on one goal, and Matt Hill on three.
The Martians fifth goal came from the quick skating of junior Danny Daugherty. He rushed the net midway through the third period to out-skate a Blue Devil defender for the unassisted goal.
Between the pipes, Robert Briscoe didn’t see too much action, but for his time he stopped 17 of 18 shots on goal.
“For this game we really talked about setting up plays and were looking to spread the puck out,” Coach Briscoe said. “We executed our game plan very well.”
In previous game action, the Martians skated to four wins and one loss last week. In league play, the Martians defeated both Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes (4-1) and shutout Flint Southwestern Academy (3-0) to increase their record. Over the weekend of Jan. 31, Goodrich traveled to Iceland Arena for the Carman-Ainsworth Iceland Tournament, where they defeated Flushing 5-2 in round one. Unfortunately, the Martians were defeated in the tournament by Carmen-Ainsworth, 0-3, on Feb.1.
The Martians faced off with LakeVille at home on Saturday, however, no scores were available by press time.
Next up for the Goodrich icers is a road game with Grand Blanc at the IMA on Wednesday, Feb 12. Game time is set for 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, the boys travel to take on Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central, for what promises to be an interesting game. Players take the ice in Bay City at 6:30.