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3/2/2008-Hockey
OT and on for OLSM
Eaglets keep title defense rolling with comeback
By KEN PACZAS/Special to The Oakland Press
PLYMOUTH--Orchard Lake St. Mary's boys hockey team has faced every obstacle over the last two seasons, and the Eaglets overcame every one last season on their way to their Division 1 state championship.
On Saturday, they showed why they can repeat, scoring with 16 seconds left to send the game into overtime and then scoring in overtime to knock off Northville, 3-2, claiming their second straight regional title.
"It's win or go home," OLSM's Billy Balent said. "We don't want to go home. We have a lot of young players on this team that didn't get a chance to win that title last year and we want to let them have that same feeling."
St. Mary's now hopes to continue its success Wednesday, when the Eaglets play in the quarterfinals at Ann Arbor Ice Cube Arena, facing Ann Arbor Pioneer, a 3-2 winner over Dearborn Edsel Ford Saturday.
It took a rally to get there, though.
After two straight penalties hindered the Eaglets' chances of tying the game, an icing call brought the puck into the Northville zone. Matt Uhrin then made most of his opportunity, finding the puck in front of the net and knocking it in to send the game to overtime.
In overtime, Thaddeus McConkey scored on a pass from Balent to win the game and keep the Eaglets' season alive.
The first period was all Northville, as the Mustangs attacked St. Mary's and forced the Eaglets to pay a passive style, which is not what the Eaglets like to do. The Mustangs took advantage of this for a pair of goals to take a 2-0 first period lead.
"We struggled early," St. Mary's head coach Brian Klanow said. "A lot of teams might of packed it in at that point and lay down. Our boys didn't and they came out in the second with an aggressiveness and it showed."
St. Mary's made its charge in the second period, outshooting the Mustangs, 9-3, in the period. Unfortunately for the Eaglets, Theodore Karanen was a rock in the Northville net, not allowing any easy goals.
The Eaglets were finally able to break through with 9:17 left in the period when Tim Hooker deflected Aaron Schneider's shot in to cut the Mustang lead to just one.
"I'm just so proud of our kids," Klanow said. "To see where they have grown, from the start of the season to now is just amazing. We have a lot of new faces and they really grew up in this game."
Balent finished the game with two assists, while goalie Ryan Morley-Stockton, made 19 saves in the victory.
Keranen stopped 31 shots but the Eaglets just wouldn't back down, and kept shooting until they scored.
"We still have three games to go," Balent said. "We are excited to win today, but we know there is still a lot of hockey left to be played. We just have to keep working hard and keep working towards our goals."
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