With their biggest home audience of the season, including many youth hockey players, Lake Orion and Clarkston battled deep into the third period last Thursday in a regular season game that both coaches said looked more like a playoff one.
Brad Berschbach’s goal with under three minutes left broke the 1-all tie and sent Lake Orion to their second victory in as many tries against the Wolves this season. They won 2-0 back on Jan. 26.
But the two squads are likely to meet again sometime next week in pre-regional action at Port Huron.
‘It could’ve gone either way,? said Coach Pat Cherry. ‘It’s nice to win, but it might not be over with. We’ll probably see those guys again in the playoffs.?
The Dragons got a disputed goal with 1:30 left from Mike Rinke and held on for a 3-1 victory.
Cody Wendell scored the other goal for Lake Orion and Jason Stross made 33 saves in net. But it was Berschbach’s goal that had the coach talking afterwards.
‘With three minutes left, I kind of took a chance and put our first line back out (on short rest) against their third line,? Cherry said. ‘We had the last line change and it might have caught them off-guard.?
Wendell and Matt Milliman picked up assists on the goal.
Clarkston Coach Bryan Krygier, whose team outshot the Dragons 34-25 on the night, felt his squad fell victim to poor officiating on the decisive tally.
‘Their second goal wasn’t a goal,? he said. ‘I saw the puck in the crease and heard the whistle. I know it wasn’t a goal. And then they got another one when we were sloppy.?
Nick Posawatz scored Clarkston’s lone goal and Garrett Knappe made 22 saves.
The final few seconds of the game saw both sides get eight minutes of penalties for roughing.
‘I don’t know if it was fighting, I think it was just frustrations,? Cherry said. ‘They’re hungry. They want to win, too. I think you’re starting to see a rivalry develop here in hockey. You already have it in the other sports, so this is something for the future.?
With the win, the Dragons improved to 6-3-3 in OAA I action. They host Farmington Unified on Thursday, in a game that will likely determine third place in the league standings.
Notables?
*The team topped Utica 2-0 at home on Saturday night in a non-league game to improve to 10-8-4 on the season.
*The game against Clarkston marked ‘Youth Hockey Night? and there were special promotions throughout the game, including the Red Wings? Karen Newman singing the national anthem.
*For photos from the two games with the Wolves, visit www.lakeorionreview.com and click on the ‘Photo Galleries? link.