Salem's Connor Berlin (15)
advances the puck against Stevenson's Christian Wood.
Rocks
battle No. 2 Spartans to wire
BY ED WRIGHT
Feb. 17, 2010,
12:30 a.m.
For a brief shining moment
Wednesday night, Salem's hockey team had No. 2-ranked Livonia Stevenson
on the ropes, er, the boards.
Just moments after trailing the high-octane Spartans 2-0, Mario
Macari slid a centering pass to Mark McGee, who directed the puck into
the back of the Spartans' net, knotting the game at 2-all in the KLAA
Kensington Conference title game that pitted the Central winner
(Stevenson) against the South champ (Salem).
The joy the Rocks felt though was way too brief as 34 seconds
later, Timothy Pruchnik banged a rebound shot past Salem net-minder
Steven Manser to give a Spartans a 3-2 lead they would never relinquish.
"The absence of the things that allowed us to get back into the
game -- mental lapses and poor positioning -- are the things that cost
us on Stevenson's last goal," lamented Salem coach Ryan Ossenmacher.
"This loss hurts, but it also shows we can compete with one of the best
teams in the state.s
"If you ask the guys, they'll tell you they didn't play their
best game tonight, but they were still able to compete with Stevenson
right to the end.
"They're one of the fastest teams we've played all season. If
you can't match their speed, you'd better be in the right spot or
they're going to make you pay."
The Spartans, who improved to 18-3-1, jumped ahead 2-0 on goals
from Jacob Poyner and Justin Shureb.
The Rocks sliced their deficit in half when Ryan Quigley slid a
great pass to Steve Haburne, who lit the lamp with a quick, low shot.
"Steve's goal was a classic example of how you don't have to
have a hard shot to score. If you shoot it quick like he did, it can
have just as effective.
Regarding McGee's goal, Ossenmacher said: "Mark's become one of
our best, pure goal scorers. He does a nice job of getting his shot
off. He's scored three or four within the last week or so, so he's
coming on."
Salem dropped to 12-7-3 with the loss.
