Having bought themselves a share of the OAA division I league championship with a 5-3 win against Farmington United on Feb. 22, the Wolves had enough spare change to dispatch Brother Rice, 7-2, to close the regular season on Feb. 24.
‘It’s been a tough ten days or so for us, especially the last five games. We were 0-1-4 coming into the Farmington game,? said Clarkston Coach Bryan Krygier.
Prior to the showdown with Farmington, who beat the Wolves 2-1 on Jan. 6, Clarkston tied Mona Shores and East Kentwood on a road trip to the west side of the state.
Against Farmington, senior Alex Handley had three goals for the hat trick. Junior Matt Prasil added a goal and two assists and Senior Mike Fogg chipped in two assists.
The win over Farmington allowed Clarkston to tie Troy United for the OAA crown with a 9-2-1 league record. A loss would have dropped Clarkston to third in the OAA. A tie would have placed them in second.
‘We go through cycles. We were playing good hockey up at East Kentwood and Mona Shores and we got two ties. Playing those tougher teams allowed us to beat Farmington,? said Krygier. ‘When you play a tougher schedule, go up against good teams and you are familiar with the situation, I think you have an advantage.?
Buoyed by their strong play to clinch the league title and the solid fan support, Clarkston’s seniors ratcheted up their level of play another notch against Brother Rice.
‘It’s unbelievable. Best way to end the season right there. Everything was going our way,? said Fogg, who had four goals in the game. ‘I knew we were going to win just from the way we were playing at the start.?
Fogg blew the game wide at the onset, nabbing a hat trick with goals with 10:34, 6:49 and 6:04 remaining in the first period. Assisting on Fogg’s opening salvo were junior Ricky Spano thrice, and senior Trevor Johns twice.
‘They have the whole package: they have a bunch of seniors, they have size, they have speed and they move the puck as good as any team we have played this year,? said Brother Rice Coach Lou Schmidt.
Seniors Bryan Morin and Chris Degen added goals for the Wolves in the second period after the Warriors? Carl Schmidt scored unassisted. Junior Kyle Cummings assisted on both Clarkston goals in the second period.
With Clarkston up 5-1 in the third period, Fogg netted his fourth goal of the game, assisted by Cummings and Morin. Trevor Johns tallied Clarkston’s final goal with 7:03 left, with the helper going to Fogg.
Senior Michael Brach was in net for both wins this week
‘You always like to end on a good note going into the regionals,? said Krygier. ‘No matter how many times we work on (the defensive zone), we still have to work on it some more. I know we can score, but when we score three or four goals, we have to definitely win the hockey game.?
The Wolves first round regional match up with Grand Blanc at Bay City Central on March 1 finished too late for this edition of The Clarkston News. Should they advance, Clarkston will play on March 3 and 5 in order to gain a berth in the State quarter-finals.