Hockey: Spartans Advance Despite Struggles

By Matt Brooks (Contact)

Saturday, February 23, 2008

A quick glance at the shots-on-goal totals from Friday night's Northern Virginia Scholastic Hockey League first round playoff matchup between Broad Run and Mountain View would indicate a complete thrashing by the Spartans.

Broad Run (9-2) out-shot the visiting Wildcats 24-9, by the count of the selective scorekeeper, and the real totals were probably far worse. But despite their decisive advantages in shots and time of possession, the seventh-seeded Spartans had to scrap and claw their way to a dramatic 3-2 victory to advance to the next round.

“It's one of those games where when the kids aren't as challenged as they are in some other games, they have a tendency to not have the same intensity or focus they would otherwise have,” Broad Run coach Mark Thompson said. “I think you saw a little bit of that tonight and as a result, we let the other team back in the game. Not to take anything away from them, they played well, but we obviously didn't play our best game.”

The Spartans out-shot the 10th-seeded Wildcats 6-2 in the opening period and created several scoring chances that couldn't find the back of the net. They continued to control the puck in the second period until Mountain View's Joe Whitaker flipped the puck past Broad Run goaltender Sean Thompson on a two-on-one breakaway to give the visitors the first goal of the game with 11 minutes remaining in the second period.

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No. 10 Mountain View vs. No. 7 Broad Run

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The No. 10 Mountain View Wildcats take the ice against the No. 7 Broad Run Spartans in the first round of NVSHL playoffs. (Emmy Crawford)

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Spartans forwards Geoff O'Kane (L) and Evan Blair team up to take the puck from a Wildcats handler. (Emmy Crawford)

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The Spartans take a shot on goal early in the first period against the Wildcats. (Emmy Crawford)

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Wildcats winger Ricky Skaja gets the jump on Spartans winger No. 91 Jeremy Davis and takes the puck from the faceoff. (Emmy Crawford)

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Spartans defenseman No. 13 Chris Kohlasch takes a long slapshot on the Wildcats' goal in the first period. (Emmy Crawford)

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A Spartans defender and Wildcats winger chase a puck deflected from the goal by Spartans goalie Sean Thompson. (Emmy Crawford)

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Broad Run Spartans head coach Mark Thompson talks strategy with his team between the first and second periods. (Emmy Crawford)

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Wildcats winger Joe Whitaker slaps the puck past Spartans goalie Sean Thompson for the first goal of the game, with 10:58 left on the clock in the second period. (Emmy Crawford)

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Wildcats players Joe Whitaker and Nick Small celebrate after scoring a goal, making the score 1-0 against the Spartans. (Emmy Crawford)

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A Broad Run player watches the action from the penalty box during a Mountain View power play in the second period. (Emmy Crawford)

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A Spartans player swerves too late to avoid an attempted check by a Wildcats defender. (Emmy Crawford)

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Four Wildcats defenders close in on a Spartans shot on goal to prevent the puck from getting past Wildcats goalie Joseph Zinger. (Emmy Crawford)

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Spartans players look on from the bench during second period action against the Wildcats. (Emmy Crawford)

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Spartans senior Connor Cunningham makes a shot just under the outstretched glove of Wildcats goalie Joseph Zinger for the first Spartans goal of the night. (Emmy Crawford)

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A shot from Spartans winger No. 2 Michael Bauernfeind flies up over the shoulder of Wildcats goalie Joseph Zinger and into the net with 13:37 remaining in the third period, making the score 2-1 Spartans. (Emmy Crawford)

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Spartans teammates celebrate after taking the lead in the third period against the Mountain View Wildcats. (Emmy Crawford)

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Wildcats defenseman No. 55 Taylor Horricks sends the puck into the back of the net behind Spartans goalie Sean Thompson, tying the score 2-2 in the third period with 9:32 left on the clock. (Emmy Crawford)

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Spartans defender Geoff O'Kane reaches to keep a puck from the stick of a Wildcats player. (Emmy Crawford)

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Spartans captain No. 91 Jeremy Davis celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal, making the score 3-2 Spartans with two minutes remaining in the third period. (Emmy Crawford)

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After a tough and close game, the Broad Run Spartans and Mountain View Wildcats shake hands on center ice. The final score was 3-2, Broad Run. (Emmy Crawford)

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Broad Run continued to pepper Mountain View netminder Joseph Zinger with shots and eventually their persistence paid off. Senior NVSHL All-Star forward Connor Cunningham stuffed home a rebound with 9.2 seconds left in the period to tie the game at 1-1.

The Spartans kept up the pressure in the third period and less than two minutes in, Michael Bauernfeind beat Zinger on another loose rebound to put Broad Run up 2-1. Two minutes later, senior captain Jeremy Davis slotted home another one that likely would have put the game out of reach, but the referees waived it off.

The Wildcats came right back to tie it up again on the stick of defenseman Taylor Horricks. With one Spartan defender on his hip and another closing, Horricks found an opening near post and flipped the puck past Broad Run goalie Sean Thompson for the equalizer as he fell to the ice.

But again the Spartans battled back, and with 2:07 left in the game, Davis netted the game-winner. The All-Star forward scored on a nifty wrist shot off a face-off in the Mountain View zone, sending the Wildcats back home to Stafford and the Spartans into the quarterfinals.

“We have four seniors and for some of these guys, one of these games is going to be the last game they play as a Broad Run Spartan,” Thompson said. “I think the closer we got to the end of the game, the more apparent that became and the seniors really stepped it up.

“They're not ready for the season to be over and they're not ready for their high school careers to be over. When they needed to, they stepped up to the plate and they scored. But what I think you saw during the flow of the game was that they took the play a little lightly and as a result, we didn't score where we should have.”

The Spartans will likely take on Langley, which had an opening-round bye, in Monday's quarterfinals. Broad Run is familiar with the Saxons, having played them already this season and winning their first meeting.

“They're a very good team with a good coach and a lot of depth,” Thompson said. “But in the game that we won, the kids came out with a lot of focus and fire and they played to their potential and we won. If they do that again, I think we've got a great chance.”

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks