EAST ALTON - In a playoff game that was everything it should be, a second-period shorthanded goal from Michael Lane proved to be the difference as Rockwood Summit defeated Edwardsville 2-1 in the both team's opening game of the Mid-States Club Hockey Association's St. Louis Blues Challenge Cup playoffs Thursday night at East Alton Ice Arena.
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The top two teams in the Suburban Division played very well for the entire game, and in the end, Falcon goalie Bailey Marler came up with the saves when Summit needed them, and the defense held the Tigers to two shots on goal in the final period. to help preserve the win.
"Yeah, it was a fast, physical, it was a fun game, I'm sure, to play in," said Edwardsville head coach Jason Walker, "and a fun game to watch. Just you'd rather come out on the other side of it. Frustrating, but we've got to move on to tomorrow."
Lane's shorthanded goal was the difference-maker, but the Tigers had plenty of chances in the first two periods as well, but couldn't connect on them.
"You only score one goal, you're not going to win many hockey games," Walker said, "so that was a tough one. It was tough as far as momentum goes to too, having the chance to tie it there on the power play, and then giving one up, but you give their goalie a lot of credit. We had a lot of good looks, especially early in the game. I thought we got off to a great start, and just he was able to make a lot of big saves for them."
Edwardsville goalie J.P. Twombly had a magnificent game as well, coming up big to help keep the Tigers in the thick of things.
"And J.P. too," Walker said. "J.P. played great on the other end, too. It was an all-around good game from the goaltenders, for sure."
It was the third time Edwardsville and Summit me this season, with the Tigers winning the regular-season games en route to the division championship, their first of any kind in Edwardsville's four years in the MSCHA, and Walker felt the team's mindset was just to play their game.
"We just wanted to play our game, our speed game," Walker said, "straight up and down the ice, and we got off to a great start, got a lot of good looks and a lot of good chances. He was just there to make those big saves."
The game started off well for both teams, coming out with much speed and determination. The Falcons had a great chance in the first two minutes, but Twombly came up with a big pad save, and three-and-a-half minutes in, Sam Gibbons had a breakaway after getting a good lead pass at the Summit blue line, but Marler was there to turn away the chance.
Both Twombly and Marler continued to make great stops on the other team's chances, but at 10:17 of the period, Tyler Catalano's centering pass found Andrew Koutsogiannis, who's shot got inside of the post pas Twombly to give Summit a 1-0 lead. The advantage would hold until the end of the period.
In the second period, Twombly and Marler again were coming up big, Marler especially, as he made a pair of key stops to thwart Tiger chances. Then, with Zach Martin off for tripping, a loose puck got into the Tiger zone, and Twombly came out of his net to poke-check it away, but the puck went right to Lane, who skated around the Edwardsville goalie and scored at 7:39 unassisted to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead. It stayed that way until 12:01 of the period, when Gibbons got the puck and tried a shot that Marler saved, but the rebound went to Anthony Ruklic, who poked the puck past Marler into the net to cut the lead to 2-1. The score held at the end of the period, but Edwardsville seemed to be gaining momentum.
The defenses and goaltenders took over the third period, with Summit defense clamping down on the Tigers, not allowing very many good looks at the net. On the other end, Twombly was brilliant, making a pair of good saves to keep the Tigers in the game. Ultimately, the Tigers were able to only have two shots on goal in the period, to the Falcons' eight, and in the final minute, Twombly was pulled for an extra attacker, but the Tigers couldn't get the equalizer as Summit won 2-1.
For the game, Edwardsville outshot the Falcons 25-21.
The Tigers, now 0-1-0 in the Blue Conference, now play two games at the Maryville University Hockey Center in west St. Louis County, meeting up with Chaminade College Prep Friday night at 9:20 p.m., then face Rockwood Marquette in their final group stage game Monday night at 8:40 p.m. Walker knows that his team knows where they're at in the group standings, and that Edwardsville will come out ready to go in the next two games.
"We know where we're at," Walker said, "as far as being able to pick up a game tomorrow night. And so, these guys will be ready, because they've worked hard all year, and they'll be ready for tomorrow's game."
Chris Rhodes also contributed to this story.
