By Jeff Nelson and Dave Yanovitz
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, February 21, 2008
An unpredictable postseason has led to an unlikely matchup in the inaugural Mid-Atlantic Prep Hockey League playoffs.
DeMatha, the seventh and final seed in the tournament, followed Tuesday's win over second-seeded Bullis with an 8-2 victory over sixth-seeded St. Stephen's/St. Agnes yesterday afternoon at Rockville Ice Arena.
The Stags will play in tomorrow's championship game against fourth-seeded Mount St. Joseph at the Gardens Ice House in Laurel at 7 p.m.
The Gaels knocked off top-seeded Gonzaga, 5-2, in Laurel yesterday.
"They threw everything they had at us," Eagles Coach Paul Tilch said. "Mount St. Joseph plays a much more physical style than us. We're more finesse. They knew to implement that game plan."
Gonzaga won the past three private school championships in the Maryland Scholastic Hockey League before 11 private schools formed the MAPHL this season. The Eagles, who defeated DeMatha in two meetings this season by a combined total of 18-2, would have been a heavy favorite had they made the final.
Instead, tomorrow's outcome is anyone's guess after the Stags and Gaels split their two regular season games this season.
"It's safe to say that the way things have been going during these playoffs, whatever you think might happen, you have to go with the opposite," DeMatha Coach Tony MacAulay said. "It's made for a great deal of parity."
Linganore's Different LookA year after a heartbreaking, last-minute loss to South River in the Maryland Scholastic Hockey League public school championship game, Linganore is back in the MSHL's final four. The Lancers, who enter the rankings this week at No. 10, beat then-No. 7 Bethesda-Chevy Chase, 4-3, in a shootout Tuesday night in the West Region final.
Goalie Kelci Lanthier made 20 saves in regulation and overtime and didn't allow a goal in the shootout. Sean McHugh scored the clinching goal in the shootout.
"We're a very different team [from last season], but we're a balanced team," Linganore Coach Pete Grzybinski said.
The Lancers lost a 52-point scorer when Jason Klauka graduated, but they have surged to a 13-2 record with three strong lines and a fourth fighting for ice time.
Sophomore Ethan Klauka, Jason's brother, leads the team with 16 goals and senior Hunter Lidbeck is second on the team with 13.
Tomorrow, they get their biggest test of the season against No. 9 Wootton (13-2-1) in the MSHL semifinals.
"We're gonna have to backcheck coming back on defense and create traffic in front of the net," Grzybinski said. "There's a feeling in the locker room that these guys want to get back [to the finals] bad. They know they're still a great team, just a different team."
Wootton Breaks OutWootton's 9-2 win over Good Counsel in the South Region final Tuesday put the Patriots into the state semifinals for the second time in three years. Two years ago, Wootton had a 3-2 lead on Severna Park heading into the third period but couldn't hang on in a 4-3 loss.
Wootton led 3-1 after two periods on Tuesday, but neither the players nor Coach Dave Evans was overly pleased.
"We got into the locker room, and coach wrote two words on the board: poise and composure," senior Scott Futrovsky said. "We were getting some stupid penalties that were keeping them in the game."
Wootton responded with six goals from six players.
The game also marked the first time two longtime friends played as opponents instead of linemates. Wootton's Futrovsky and Good Counsel senior Alex Combs, who were born on the same day in October 1990, had never faced off against each other. They have played as club hockey teammates for years, beginning with Montgomery Youth Squirt B team five years ago.
"I remember back in pee wee, we would give each other goals all the time," said Combs, who scored Good Counsel's first goal and finished the season with 27. "Now I'm out there, and I have to go hit him and take the puck away. It was a ton of fun."
View all comments that have been posted about this article.