They may have been soft goals, but they counted just the same.
Visiting Cranbrook-Kingswood scored two third-period goals to break a tie and defeat the Clarkston hockey team 5-3 in a Saturday contest at the Polar Palace in Lapeer.
The loss dropped Clarkston’s record to 9-7-4 overall and 5-3-2 in Oakland Activities Association Division I. The Wolves are ranked 10th in the state.
The Wolves struck first with 13:24 of the first period, as senior forward Adam Peters scored unassisted. Clarkston increased its lead to 2-0 with 9:57 left in the second, as sophomore forward Trevor Johns connected on an assist from senior defenseman Ron Knoebel.
However, the Cranes went on an offensive flurry later in the second, as they scored three goals, the third coming with 2:26 left in the period, to take a 3-2 lead.
The Cranes’ lead would prove to be short-lived, though. Just 22 seconds later, Clarkston junior forward Steve Morin answered with a goal on an assist from junior forward Kyle Buzzo to tie the game at three.
In the third, Cranbrook-Kingswood scored twice to put the game away. However, Clarkston coach Bryan Krygier felt those were goals the Wolves should have stopped.
“We gave up some really soft goals, including one that went off two players and in the net,” he said. “There were a couple of goals that shouldn’t have happened from a defensive standpoint.”
Despite the loss, the Wolves outshot the Cranes 16-15. Krygier was pleased with the level of play from both teams.
“One of the things I like about playing Cranbrook is it’s usually a good, clean game,” he said. “There was only one penalty on each side.”
The Wolves return to action Wednesday when they take on league rival West Bloomfield at Cranbrook Ice Arena beginning at 5 p.m. Clarkston then travels to Farmington for an 8 p.m. contest Saturday.