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2/10/2008-Hockey
Local icers display talents at showcase
By Mike Rosenbaum of The West Bloomfield Eccentric
Three area high school hockey squads almost pulled off a trifecta Friday afternoon at the annual Michigan High School Hockey Showcase in Trenton. Cranbrook Kingswood and Orchard Lake St. Mary's both won and Birmingham Brother Rice was six minutes from victory before dropping its contest to Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
One night earlier, St. Mary's was the first area team to take the ice in the three-day event, scoring a 5-0 victory over Northville, which was ranked ninth in the state in Division I. The eighth-ranked Eaglets got a hat trick from Billy Balent and shutout goaltending from Chris Sullivan.
Friday afternoon St. Mary's fell behind Muskegon Mona Shores when Kyle Hicks scored a power play goal just 2:36 into the game.
The Eaglets tied the game on Tim Hooker's unassisted shorthanded goal with 24 seconds remaining in the first period, then grabbed a 3-1 lead in the second period. Thaddeus McConkey scored, with assists from Balent and Hooker, 34 seconds into the frame, then Shane Halaas added a power play marker at 5:43, with assists from Balent and Max Uhrin.
The Eaglets maintained their lead by killing off a long 5-on-3 power play late in the period.
"I thought we played that (power play) really well," said Eaglets coach Brian Klanow. "You know that shots are going to come. You just want to try to keep those to the outside, so you're trying to force them to move the puck around you."
St. Mary's out-shot Mona Shores, 17-10, in the first two periods but Mona Shores fired eight shots at netminder Devon Carr in the third, netting a power play goal when Tyler McCarl deflected a shot past Carr at 4:14. But Mona Shores couldn't muster the tying goal, despite pulling goaltender Scott Tiefenthal with 1:22 remaining, giving St. Mary's the 3-2 victory.
"We didn't play our best game," Klanow said. "But we played good. I think we out-shot them quite a bit (23-18). We found a way to win. And those are the things you've got to try to do. Good teams find ways to win."
St. Mary's improved to 11-9-2.
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