In the first three weeks of 2007, it was the power play and penalty kill that fueled the Lake Orion hockey squad to a perfect record.
But last Thursday at the Detroit Skating Club, it was Waterford Kettering stealing the Dragon recipe, getting three second period goals from Greg (Taylor) Crawford, all on special teams, and hanging on for a 3-2 win.
It was the Dragons? first loss since early December, and all three of their setbacks this season have been by a lone goal.
More importantly, it was Lake Orion’s first loss in OAA II play and made the race for the league title a three-headed one (including Troy).
‘They played with a lot of intensity tonight and took advantage of their opportunities,? Dragon Coach Pat Cherry said of Kettering’s effort.
Lake Orion beat Kettering 9-2 earlier in the season. This time, their defense, in front of freshman goalie Stephen Salek, didn’t allow a goal until the final three minutes.
‘He held us in that first period,? Kettering Coach Dan Whitener said of Salek. ‘They could have had a couple goal lead.?
In the second period, Crawford took over, scoring his first tally on a five-on-three advantage and second with a one-man advantage, both less than five minutes into the period.
‘We got into penalty trouble in the second period,? Cherry said. ‘They had a five-on-three for like four minutes, and they scored.?
Crawford’s third goal came on a shorthanded breakaway with less than three minutes left in the period.
‘They’re well coached, Dan does a good job with his special teams,? Cherry added, saying the odd-man situations made the difference.
‘We took nine penalties, which is uncharacteristic of us,? he added
Still, the Dragons fought back, finally getting on the board with a Kevin Kranker power play goal with 2:58 left.
The Dragons then had over one minute left on a separate penalty, but couldn’t register a shot on Salek.
Ken Klooster got the second LO goal in the final 30 seconds, but the Dragons ran out of time before getting off another shot.
‘I think we made a few bone-headed plays at the end,? Whitener said. ‘But give them credit, they kept coming at us.?
‘They pushed it right to the end,? he added. ‘We weathered the storm.?
David Wurst assisted on both LO goals and Kevin Kranker kept his scoring streak intact.
Kranker, a senior assistant captain, had scored hat tricks in the team’s previous three games.
‘I think he’s one of the best in all of the OAA,? Cherry said. ‘We’re kind of keeping that under wraps, but the cat’s out of the bag on that now.?
The Dragons played without defensemen Scott Johnson and Brian Krauss, but Cherry didn’t want to use that as an excuse.
‘It’s that time of the year, where guys are going to go down,? he said.
The win gave Kettering 18 points in league action.
‘Most of the people watching this game, they would realize that with our two teams and Troy there’s not a whole lot of difference between OAA I and OAA II,? Whitener said.
The Dragons traveled to Berkley on Saturday, easily topping the Bears 7-1 to improve to 12-3-1, 9-1-1.
Six different Dragons scored in the win, led by two goals from Klooster. Peter Levandowski got the win in net.
Kettering traveled to Troy in another key OAA II battle on Saturday night, with the hosts winning 4-3.
Kettering’s loss, coupled with LO’s win, gives the Dragons the league lead with 19 points. However, Troy, with a game in-hand sits with Kettering at 18 points.
Lake Orion travels to Troy on Wednesday night for a 6:30 start at the Troy Sports Center. The two teams tied 6-6 before the holiday break.
‘We have to beat them,? Cherry said.
Details on that game will be available Thursday morning at www.lakeorionreview.com.