FRUITPORT TWP. - On paper, the Reeths-Puffer hockey team seemed like a solid favorite going into Wednesday’ regional championship game against Traverse City Central.
The Rockets came in 10 wins above .500, with a high-powered offense that scores a lot of goals. The Trojans came in with a .500 record, and went through a stretch in January when they lost six out of seven games.
But hockey is played on ice, not paper, and Traverse City Central turned out to be a lot better than advertised.
The Trojans used a very physical defense to check Reeths-Puffer’s big scorers, kept enough pressure on the R-P goal, and handed the Rockets a stunning 4-0 defeat in a Division 2 regional final at Lakeshore Sports Centre.
R-P's Trenton Hanks tries to poke the puck away from an opponent. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Reeths-Puffer, which made a run to the state semifinals last year, finished with a 17-8-2 record.
Traverse City Central improved to 14-13 and advanced to the Division 2 state quarterfinals.
“The opportunities were there,” said R-P head coach Dustin Langlois. “It was just one of those games where you just fight it the whole time, and it’s hard to claw back when you have a deficit. We kept paddling, but the bounces didn’t go our way.
“Their defense moved the puck well. Once they got possession they spread things out and made everything tough. And their forwards clogged up the middle so we couldn’t do a lot in front of their net. We had opportunities, but we just couldn’t capitalize.”
R-P's Connor Anderson gets a shot off past an opponent. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The loss was painful for the Rockets, who were determined to build on a good, but sometimes up-and-down regular season with another long postseason run.
R-P started the season with a 5-1 record, endured a 1-3-1 slump, rebounded and won six in a row, struggled and went 1-3-1 again, then won four straight before Wednesday’s game.
Then the season ended with R-P suffering its first shutout loss of the campaign.
“It's always tough after guys put in so much during the year,” Langlois said about the sudden end to the season. “They sacrifice a lot to play varsity hockey. They’re at the rink every day and give up a lot of family and friend time. For the seniors especially, when you come up short like this, it’s hard to see them kind of realize that this is their last game.”
R-P's Jordan Benkert applies a solid check to a TC Central player. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Traverse City Central gained the advantage early when Cole Herzberg scored about five minutes into the game.
The Trojans struck again with just under five minutes left in the first period when Andrew Beattie chipped in a shot from close range.
The Rockets came into the second period determined to erased their 2-0 deficit, but TCC’s best defense turned out to be its offense. The Trojans kept R-P goalie Huck VanDyke busy with nine shots on goal, and while VanDyke stopped them all, the Rockets had limited opportunities to score.
TC Central still led 2-0 headed into the third period.
The Trojans followed the same script down the stretch, outshooting the Rockets 7-5 in the third and adding two more goals.
Anderson gets ready to take a backhand shot. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Herzberg scored his second goal four minutes into the period, then Beattie added an open-net goal with 1:30 left on the clock.
R-P will lose nine seniors to graduation - Ayden Hartzell, Tyler Tindall, Bucky Aney, Gavin Pastotnik, Hunter Fritz, Leo Kretschmar, Trenton Hanks, Kaidyn Hill and Mark Stewart.
The good news is that they will have a very solid core of 10 underclassmen who are expected to return.
That list includes standouts like Eli Cuti, Hayden Taylor, Tyler Cuti, Connor Anderson, VanDyke and several others.
“Graduating nine seniors is going to be tough, but we graduated eight last year and were able to fill in the holes,” Langlois said. “We definitely have a good crop coming up.”