MUSKEGON - The Reeths-Puffer hockey team was coming off a 10-day layoff on Tuesday, but head coach Bill Zalba refused to use holiday rustiness as an excuse.
His Rockets, who had been playing great hockey for most of December, lacked the necessary energy and intensity against archrival Mona Shores, and ended up paying the price, according to Zalba.
The statistics back up his claim. The Rockets were outskated and outshot by the Sailors throughout the game and came out on the short end of a 3-1 final score in front of a really big crowd at Muskegon’s Trinity Health Arena.
The game was tied 1-1 after two periods, thanks largely to the efforts of Bear VanDyke, R-P’s standout freshman goalie. But the Sailors scored twice in the first 1:04 of the third period and skated off with the victory.
R-P's Eli Cuti (17) tries to dig the puck loose from the Mona Shores goalie. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The loss threw a bit of cold water on the Rockets’ recent winning trend. They had won two games in a row coming into the contest and six of their last seven.
R-P is now 7-5-1 overall and 2-2 in the O-K Conference Fisher Division standings. Mona Shores broke a two-game losing streak and improved to 7-3-1 overall and 2-0 in the conference.
The two teams will play again on Jan. 17 at Lakeshore Sports Centre.
“To be honest, it shouldn’t matter,” Coach Zalba said, when asked about the long layoff. “When it comes to this game, it’s about the want and playing with emotion, and from the very start, we just didn’t have that jump tonight.
R-P's Tyler Cuti (7) looks for the chance to pop in a rebound. Photo/Jeremy Clark
“It was frustrating, but it was also a great learning experience. A lot of our guys were playing in this rivalry game for the first time, and they learned it’s one you have to get up for. It’s a tough one, playing in front of all of those people.”
The Sailors controlled the offensive tempo of the game from the opening minutes of the game, and the Rockets had trouble keeping up.
Mona Shores had a 25-14 advantage in shots on goal, and could have won by more if it weren’t for a lot of great saves by VanDyke.
The easy assumption was that the Rockets had temporarily lost their edge during the 10-day holiday layoff – but Mona Shores had not played in 11 days, so both teams were coming in cold.
R-P's Hayden Taylor (18) tries to avoid getting a stick in the face. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Mona Shores didn’t play like it, however, while Reeths-Puffer did.
“Our goal coming into every game is to have 30-plus shots, and we ended up with 14,” Zalba said. “We didn’t create enough opportunities. We looked nervous, and (the Sailors) worked really hard. That’s a hard-working team over there and they don’t stop. You have to outwork them to beat them, and we didn’t have that tonight.”
The game was scoreless for most of the first period, until Mona Shores’ Quinn Addicott got the puck past VanDyke from close range with 2:38 remaining, and the Sailors led 1-0 heading into the second.
R-P’s Hayden Taylor evened up the score with a long wrist shot that found the back of the net about 2 ½ minutes into the second period, and the game was tied heading into the third.
The goal extended an impressive hot streak for Taylor, who now has nine goals in R-P’s last three games.
The Rockets celebrate Hayden Taylor's latest goal. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Mona Shores took control right away in the third period when Owen Herman popped in the rebound from a blocked shot at the 51 second mark.
His teammate, Cooper Nellis, scored just 13 seconds later, giving the Sailors all they would need to claim the win.
Zalba said he told the Rockets after the game to learn from the loss, put it behind them and focus on the next game, which will be Saturday against Grand Rapids Catholic Central at Trinity Health Arena.
“This is a game you circle on your calendar every year and you want to have your best showing, but like I told the guys, it’s not going to be our last game and it’s not going to define who we are," the coach said. "We will let it burn for a minute and then go play Grand Rapids Catholic on Saturday, and hopefully use the fuel we gained from what happened tonight.”