Icers took second place in the annual Cranbrook Thanksgiving tournament over the weekend.
The Clarkston Varsity Hockey team qualified for the final round after taking down Brighton on Friday night, 4-2.
The first period neared the final few minutes and both teams were going to go into break tied at zero. One of Brighton’s Bulldogs was put into the penalty box.
Adam Frank capitalized on the smaller defense and put on in the net with 2:24 remaining in the period.
Brighton scored two during the second period from Reid Sturos and Travis Cohoon, but the Wolves kept them from the lead after scoring two goals from Dillion Drayer and Brad Pizzey.
Clarkston finished them off with a goal from Jack Schlau at the beginning of the third period and defense keeping them out of the net for the remainder of the game.
‘We played well,? said Bryan Krygier, head coach. ‘We forechecked hard and outshot them. We controlled the play offensively and in the neutral zone.?
The boys moved on to play Cranbrook-Kingswood in the championship game on Saturday. It was a completely different game for the boys as they lost 4-0.
‘We got outplayed and outworked,? said Krygier. ‘We didn’t execute anything like we wanted to. We didn’t get any bounces and folded under pressure. We turned the puck over too much.?
The boys took 23 shots on Cranbrook’s net and 21 on Brighton. Austin Morse assisted on two goals during the Brighton game. Nick Heinrich, Chad Wotton, Travis Hargett, David Cannons, Frank and Pizzey had one assist for the night.
Goalie Jonathan William saved 18 shots against Brighton and 32 against Cranbrook.
The team will use what they learned from the weekend as they head into their next set of games.
‘When pressure comes and they are in a pressure situation they are going to do what they practiced,? said Krygier thinking back to the Cranbrook loss. ‘We have to get back to practicing better and practicing harder so when they are in that situation they are able to perform.?
The boys play Farmington (2-2) on Saturday.
‘It looks good,? said Krygier. ‘Farmington is an improved team and they are stronger than last year. We should match up pretty well.?
Clarkston is currently 2-0 in OAA I and 3-1 overall.