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EAST ALTON - Edwardsville's Mid-States Club Hockey Association team scored six unanswered goals in an 8-5 come-from-behind triumph over Duchesne Catholic of St. Charles, MO., Thursday night at the East Alton Ice Arena.
Logan Corzine’s first career Mid-States Club Hockey Association hat-trick helped Edwardsville in the big win.
The Tigers scored three goals in a 56-second span near the end of the second period, to take the win. The second period featured a combined total of 10 goals, five by each team.
Edwardsville head coach Jason Walker liked how his team rallied back from a 5-2 deficit to get the win.
“Yeah, we put ourselves in a little bit of a hole there,” Walker said, “quite a bit of a hole, but credit to the guys to come back and fight their way back.”
The Tigers called timeout after falling behind from their 5-2, and the subsequent three-goal sequence turned the game around.
“I mean, obviously, that was big, coming out of those last few minutes of the period,” Walker said, “to come back and to tie the game, that was big and set up for a nice third period.”
Corzine’s hat trick was one of his best games of the season and may serve as a boost for bigger things.
“Yeah, he showed what he could do,” Walker said. “I mean, he’s got such a good shot, a quick shot, just a big kid. When he puts the puck on net, it’s got a chance to go in. So, hopefully, that’ll be a big confidence booster for him as we move forward.”
And most importantly, the Tigers got contributions from everyone on the roster, especially playing shorthanded and without some key players.
“We had a short bench tonight, and it was all hands on deck,” Walker said. “We certainly made some mistakes, but to come out with the win, we’re happy about that.”
Edwardsville had slightly the better of the play in the first period, outshooting the Pioneers 10-8, as goalies Mason Young and Jake Burke were able to make some good stops. Duchesne got the first goal just 25 seconds in the second on the power play, with Parker Terch off for roughing. Vinny Conti took a Troy Haeffner pass at the left point and rifled a shot past Young to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead. Austin Meers also assisted, the first of a four-point night for Meers.
Edwardsville drew level at 2:29 when Corzine got the first of his three goals from close range, Tyler Berg assisting. The Tigers took the lead for the first time on a shorthanded goal, as Kyle Meehan was off for tripping. Mark Tucker broke in on a two-on-one with Terch, took the pass and scored at 5:04 to give Edwardsville a 2-1 lead. The Pioneers retook the lead with a pair of power-play goals on a two-man advantage. With Cameron Gillen off for slashing and Collin Salter off for roughing, Haeffner tied it up on a goal assisted by Conti and Meers at 8:01, and 28 seconds later, Kevin Burke scored unassisted at 8:31 to give the Pioneers a 3-2 lead.
Meers then scored twice in 57 seconds, assisted by Kevin Burke at 10:29 and unassisted at 11:26 to give the Pioneers a 5-2 lead. The Tigers called timeout to regroup and responded with three goals of their own in 58 seconds to tie it up. It started at 12:26 when Corzine banged home a rebound of a Connor Hinterser shot to cut the lead to 5-3, then Salter took a pass from Tucker and beat Jake Burke to the far post at 13:04 to make it 5-4, Justin Harper also assisting. Tucker then tied things up 20 seconds later at 13:24 with an unassisted goal to draw the Tigers level at 5-5 after two periods.
The Pioneers and Tigers combined on the last five goals of the second in a span of 2:57.
Meehan scored what proved to be the winner at 4:13 of the third, taking a pass in front from Matt Kocanik and scoring in the slot to give the Tigers a 6-5 lead. Corzine completed his hat trick and gave Edwardsville some insurance at 9:52 when he scored in front, assisted by Nate Frey and Hinterser. Hinterser then salted the game away at 12:48 when he scored from a Drew LaRose pass to make the 8-5 final.
The Tigers outshot the Pioneers 45-30 in the game, 20-16 in the second period and 15-6 in the third. Young made 25 saves, while Jake Burke came up with 37 saves for Duchesne.
Edwardsville, now 2-5-1 on the season, hosts Vianney next Thursday at East Alton in an 8:30 p.m. face-off, then has a rematch against CBC on Dec. 15 at the Affton Ice Rink in a 9:45 p.m. game.
Chris Rhodes also contributed to this story.
