MUSKEGON – The Reeths-Puffer and Sparta hockey teams finished tied at the top of the O-K Conference Fischer Division standings this season, but Sparta won the championship due to a superior goal differential.
That didn’t sit well with the Rockets, but they didn’t let it affect them in a negative way.
Instead they went out and earned an even more impressive championship on Wednesday, downing Sparta 6-2 at Muskegon’s Trinity Health Arena to capture a Division 1 regional title.
Reeths-Puffer, which won its 12th straight game, now advances to the Division1 state quarterfinals on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Ferris State University in Big Rapids. The Rockets will play Forest Hills Eastern.
R-P's Buckey Aney brings the puck up the ice. Photo/Tyler Lirones
"It was awesome - an experience I will never forget," R-P senior Connor Stawski said after the big victory. “It’s something that we’ve worked hard for all year, and we really capitalized here tonight."
Reeths-Puffer dominated on offense and led 2-1 after the first period, 4-2 after the second, and added two insurance goals in the third period.
“It feels great,” said Dewey Modaff, another R-P senior. “I’m going to remember this my whole life. We’re a family. Glad to have this memory.”
The regional title is the Rockets’ first in four years. Their last one came in 2020 under current assistant coach Bill Zalba.
R-P's Jaxon Stone unleashes a shot. Photo/Tyler Lirones
“We thought we deserved that conference title, too, but hats off to Sparta - that’s a good team over there,” said R-P head coach Dustin Langlois. “They’re a bunch of workers.”
R-P’s Eli Cuti led off the scoring at the 8:18 mark of the first period, with assists from Jaxon Stone and Croix Klint, then Sparta quickly answered with a goal to knot the score at 1-1.
With 32 seconds remaining in the period, R-P’s Tyler Tindall deked out a few defenders and got the puck past the Sparta goalkeeper to make it 2-1 headed into the second period.
At the 12:36 mark of the second, the Spartans got the puck right in front of the R-P net and put it in, tying the score at 2-2.
R-P's Hayden Taylor (15) lines up for a faceoff. Photo/Tyler Lirones
That turned out to be the final tie of the game.
With seven minutes left in the second period, Sparta was called for tripping and the Rockets took advantage of the power play. The puck found Stawski at the top of the point and he sent a rocket through traffic and into the net, giving R-P a 3-2 edge with 5:35 left on the clock.
“We went into the locker room and all Coach said to us was, ‘Don’t let off the gas,’” Stawski said. “I saw the open side of the net, shot it and good things happen when you work hard.”
Just over a minute later, Modaff blasted a wrist shot from near the Rockets’ bench that found the mark and made the score 4-2. Eli Cuti and Klint were credited with assists.
R-P's Trenton Hanks (8) tries to work the puck around a defender. Photo/Tyler Lirones
“I just saw a big screen, the top left of the net was open, so I took the shot and hoped it went in,” Modaff said.
Jaxon Stone and Tindall had goals in the third period for R-P. Connor Anderson assisted on the first goal while Anderson and Klint assisted on the second.
“They were just grinding,” Coach Langlois said about his players “We would put it in the zone and then just keep jamming on them. All they could do was ice the puck. We were putting so much pressure on them. The offense just kept sustaining.
“We got a couple bounces here and there, a lot of great passes. We played with a lot of confidence today.”
The Rockets celebrate a goal. Photo/Tyler Lirones
Langlois credited R-P goalkeeper Huck VanDyke for stifling the Sparta offense.
“Huck played absolutely amazing,” Langlois said. “He’s been lights out the last couple games for us. We have nothing but confidence in him going forward.”
Happy as they were on Wednesday to win a regional trophy, the Rockets do not consider themselves satisfied or finished.
“Our mentality is to go as far as we can,” Stawski said. “We’ll never forget tonight but we’ve got more to do.”
