EAST ALTON – New Year's Day wasn't the easiest of days for the Granite City hockey team.
Warrior hockey coach Frank Parker, though, gladly looks as the proverbial glass as being half-full.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
“We have a good group of boys on our team,” Parker said after GCHS was defeated 11-0 by O'Fallon in a Mississippi Valley Club Hockey Association game at East Alton Ice Arena Friday. “They show good character, good balance, good charisma and what I would call a supreme amount of sportsmanship. They kept trying, which is hard to teach; you can't really teach that. You can't teach heart.
“Our kids knew they were outmatched with the talent level, but they didn't let that get them down; they kept trying their best.”
Overall, this year's Warriors have looked “all right” in Parker's eyes. “We've surprised a couple of teams in a couple of games,” Parker said, “and I think we're doing all right. I think we're going to surprise a couple of people in the playoffs; I think with the integrity we've got and the way the (MVCHA) will be tiering the playoffs this year, I think we have a good chance to compete.”
The Panthers grabbed the lead nearly five minutes into the game when Zach Storck opened the scoring, with assists going to Garrett Hagerty and Zach Winkler. The Panthers extended the lead with 6:58 left in the first when Aaron Turner scored a shorthanded goal, and Hayden Ourada connected on a power play, with the assist to Cooper Barnhill, with 4:22 left in the first. Jimmy Lyles then connected on another O'Fallon power play with 2:41 left, Ethan Ourada and Matt Terveer getting the assists.
In the second period, Turner connected past Warrior goalie Grant Jackson, with Barnhill getting the assist, 4:10 into the period; Ethan Ourada scored again with 6:11 to go, Joey Kurasch getting the assist, and Matt McLeod (from Terveer) closed out the second-period scoring to put the Panthers up 7-0.
Third-period goals for OTHS came from McLeod, Winkler, Cameron Forgett and Hayden Ourada to finish the shutout.
The Warriors had just 11 shots on goal for the game, while the Panthers had 41.
Granite closes out the pre-tier regular season with a 8:45 p.m. Tuesday contest at East Alton against East Alton-Wood River.
More like this:
