The County Press

Lapeer hockey drops opener, while Alliance remains unscathed



Lapeer’s Brayden Regling fights for a loose puck during the first period of Wednesday’s loss to the Thumb Legion at the Polar Palace Arena. Photo by Joe Oster

Lapeer’s Brayden Regling fights for a loose puck during the first period of Wednesday’s loss to the Thumb Legion at the Polar Palace Arena. Photo by Joe Oster

LAPEER — The Lapeer hockey team hosted Oxford/ Avondale on Friday night after press deadlines, but opened its season last Wednesday, losing to Thumb Legion 6-1.

Lapeer scored the opening goal before Legion ripped off six-straight goals while a barrage of penalties and injuries left the Lightning shorthanded.

“We began to take penalties, and penalties changed the outcome of the game,” said Lapeer coach Steve Seres.

“Four or five guys got hurt and continued to play, even though they were dinged up…If I have anything to say about my guys, it’s that I’m extremely proud that they kept playing. They played through when they took some injuries and never quit. If the penalties had been different, it would’ve been a different outcome. That’s where the differences were, in the penalties.”

Lapeer jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Ben Rogers found the back of the net at 14:51 in the opening period. However, the Lightning lead was shortlived, as Thumb Legion tied the game less than 20 seconds later when the puck snuck past Ben Meister after bouncing off another Lapeer player. Legion’s Zac Kretzschmer was credited with the goal.

The Alliance’s Johnny Labombard holds off a Swartz Creek/Flushing opponent during Wednesday’s season opener. Photo by Brandon Pope

The Alliance’s Johnny Labombard holds off a Swartz Creek/Flushing opponent during Wednesday’s season opener. Photo by Brandon Pope

“Ben Meister did a great job in his first start as a goalie in high school hockey, even after his first goal came off one of our own sticks,” said Seres.

The game was messy for the remainder of the first period, as a Thumb Legion player was ejected for unfair play against his opponents. Lapeer’s Jakob Sutherby was also ejected from the game for excessive penalty calls.

The game was still locked at 1-1 after the opening period, but Legion added two more goals in the second frame. The last two periods were an uphill battle for Lapeer, often facing a 5-on-4 or 5-on-3 against them.

“Nate (Seres) took the reins in our zone after Jakob (Sutherby) was disqualified for penalties,” said Coach Seres. “One of the things I’m really proud of is that the game still went up and down the ice. We still had chances and took scoring chances, even when we were 5-on-3.”

Broxten Davis scored the tiebreaker at 10:36, and Jarod Coon made it a 3-1 game at the 4:34 mark. Thumb Legion added three more goals in the final period, with Coon scoring at 10:19, Casey Kirkpatrick finding the net at 3:23 and Branden Thompson adding the final goal at 2:20. Three of Thumb Legion’s final four goals came on a power play.

“It is very difficult to win a game when we are shorthanded,” said Seres. “I can’t say my guys were undisciplined; they were very disciplined. I can’t say they quit; they did play. They worked some of our systems that we worked on. It’s just a matter of when its 23 (players) against eight, and then it becomes 23 against four. I didn’t have enough healthy players to put on the ice, (but) they’re okay now. They’re just bruised-up or dinged.”

Even with the lopsided score, Seres is still optimistic about Lapeer hockey moving forward through the season, noting the play of several individuals.

“Kayden Appleton showed that he belongs here,” said Seres of his freshman. “He played a very good game and had several scoring chances, in addition to solid defense in our zone. (Our leaders) Ben Rogers, Nate Seres, Jakob Sutherby, Ethan Orange and Bray Regling all showed up. Everybody showed up to play. When bad things happen, you keep going. You don’t let it affect your attitude or the way you’re going to live your life and play your game.”

Lapeer, 0-1-0, is off this week for Thanksgiving break. The Lightning hit the ice again on Wednesday, Nov. 28, when they host St. Clair Shores Unified at the Polar Palace at 7:15 p.m. -— J.O.

ALLIANCE

The Alliance hockey team (Almont, Goodrich, Imlay City, LakeVille and North Branch) opened the season with a 9-2 win over Swartz Creek/Flushing on Wednesday. The Alliance grabbed a 3-1 lead in the opening frame and never looked back.

Ryan Rychlewski put the Alliance on the board first when he rippled the mesh on a helper from Ian Swanger and Harrison Rich at 11:43 in the first. Jacob Krutz added the second goal of the game less than two minutes later, set up by Dillon McDowell and Jonny Kippe. At 9:27, Jacob Young added a goal of his own, assisted by Ben Stull and Matt Brauer. SCF closed out the first with a goal at 1:08.

The Alliance stayed hot in the second period when Young added his second goal of the night just 15 seconds into the period, assisted by Thomas Manko. With 4:30 remaining, Johnny Labombard got in on the fun when he found the net on a helper from Mason Rich for a 5-1 lead. Young then completed his hat trick with 1:16 remaining in the frame, assisted by Kippe and goalie Will Garbutt. SCF had just one goal in the second for a 6-2 Alliance lead heading into the third.

With 7:31 remaining in the game, Krutz set up Labombard for his second goal of the game. Rychlewski then rippled the mesh for a second time just a minute later, assisted by Swanger. Labombard then closed out the game with 1:01 remaining after he completed a hat trick of his own on a helper from Krutz and Harrison Rich.

“Will Garbutt got the win in net, stopping 38 of 40 shots and made a break -out pass that led to an assist for him,” said Alliance coach Tom Ferreri. “The Alliance played with speed and intensity, and it was an all-around team win.”

The Alliance hosts Okemos in its first home game of the season on Wednesday at the Polar Palace at 7:15 p.m. — K.R.