BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
With a new coaching staff and a lot of new players, the Clarkston Varsity Hockey team learned a lot about themselves in their first three losses.
“It’s not the outcome we wanted,” said Nathan Bryer, head coach, about the losses. “But we learned a lot about our team which is good. We started off against three really good teams. We have a lot of players who haven’t played a hockey game in over a year.”
The Wolves opened the season last Thursday against crosstown rivals Lake Orion in a 4-2 loss.
Senior Mathew Phaneuf scored with five minutes left in the first period to tie the score with an assist from Devon Collis.
The Wolves opened the second period with a quick goal after grabbing possession at face off. The goal came from junior Gino Giannini with an assist from senior Tate Phares.
“It was a really good game,” said Bryer. “It was fun. It was exciting. It was a close game the entire 51 minutes. We showed people may have underestimated us. Lake Orion is a really good team and they won the OAA last year. We came out and we hung with them for the whole time. It was our first game so we just jumped into the fire.”
Freshman Hunter Smith had 13 saves in the goal. The Wolves made 37 shots on the net.
The Wolves lost to Rochester United on Friday, 5-2. Phaneuf led the team with two goals. Collis had two assists and Cristian Walk had one assist. Smith had 13 saves. They made 22 shots on the net.
“It was a good game,” Bryer said. “They are top five in the league every year.”
The Wolves lost to Stoney Creek on Sunday, 5-3. Ryan Galligan and Bredan Fredrick had one goal each. Drew Stewart had one goal and one assist. Smith had 13 saves. They made 29 shots on the net.
“We had really good moments but it’s our bad moments that ended up killing us,” Bryer said.
Bryer added seniors Joe Reiss, Hunter Carene and Fredrick stood out during the week.
“When the going got tough they stepped up and at least gave us a chance to be good,” he said. “When we were down or down by a few, they kept chipping away.
The Wolves play Birmingham United on Wednesday, 8:30 p.m., and Bloomfield Hills on Thursday, 5:30 p.m. Both games are at Detroit Skate Club. Spectators are limited to two per athlete due to COVID restrictions.

  Clarkston Hockey