A year ago, Hunter Fritz could not have been the hero for the Reeths-Puffer hockey team, because he wasn’t on the team.
Fritz was cut from the squad during tryouts because he wasn’t quite ready for varsity.
But he worked very hard in the offseason, greatly increased his skills, and made the team this season.
That was very fortunate for the Rockets on Friday, because Fritz scored the goal that saved the day.
Hunter Fritz
R-P and Midland were tied 4-4 with just six seconds left on the opening night of the Bay City Showcase. R-P’s Tyler Tindall won a faceoff in the Midland zone and the puck found its way back to Fritz
He fired a shot from the blue line, the puck hit the post, then hit the goalie and rolled into the net, giving the Rockets a thrilling 5-4 victory as the clock expired.
The come-from-behind victory left Reeths-Puffer with a 4-1 record on the season.
“He’s a huge addition to our team,” R-P Coach Dustin Langlois said about Fritz. “He doesn’t make many mistakes, he’s just steady back there (on defense) and you can always count on him to make the right play.”
Ayden Hartzell
Fritz’ big goal allowed the Rockets to salvage a victory on a night when they were playing from behind from the get-go.
Midland opened the scoring just 2:07 into the game, then the Rockets tied the score with a goal by Bucky Aney with 11 minutes remaining in the first period.
That trend continued throughout the first period, with Midland pulling ahead 2-1, R-P tying the score with a goal by Tindall, then the Chemics scoring again to take a 3-2 lead into the second period.
The Rockets tied the score 3-3 with a power play goal by Ayden Hartzell midway through the second.
Bucky Aney
Midland scored first in the third period before Hartzell scored his second goal, in a shorthanded situation, to tie the score at 4-4, which led to Fritz’ game-winner.
"We had a slow start after the bus ride,” Coach Langlois said. “We ran into some penalty trouble again, taking some undisciplined penalties. But we battled through,
“Ayden Hartzell turned the momentum around with his shorthanded goal. It wasn’t how we wanted to play, but we grinded this one out and ended up with the W."
The Rockets will stay in Bay City and play again in the Showcase on Saturday.