EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville senior hockey forward Dean Schlarmann is among the Tigers' leading scorers as the Mississippi Valley Club Hockey Association season begins December, and the Tigers back among the league's elite teams.
Through games of Nov. 25, Schlarmann has scored 12 goals and had five assists for 17 points as Edwardsville is 5-1-0 for 10 points, two currently two points behind O'Fallon and three points behind Freeburg/Waterloo in the league's Class 2A division. It's steady as she goes for Schlarmann and the Tigers as they defend their Class 2A championship, won on Edwardsville's return to the MVCHA last season.
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Dean is a Spencer Homes Male Athlete of the Month for Edwardsville.
Edwardsville is also playing for the second year in a row against teams from the St. Louis-based Mid-States Club Hockey Association in a series of games to benefit the NHL's Hockey Fights Cancer charity arm, and on Nov. 15, the Tigers played to a 3-3 tie against Parkway West in a game the Longhorns earned the tie on a shorthanded breakaway goal with exactly one minute left. Edwardsville had plenty of opportunities during the game, but failed to capitalize on. After the game, Schlarmann was still upbeat and positive in his postgame interview.
"You know, we played a great game," Schlarmann said, "but we just got unlucky. We dominated most of the game, and we just couldn't bury our chances that we had. But we've just got to keep going for the next game, and try harder."
The Tigers took the lead with two goals in 21 seconds during the second period to go ahead 3-1, and things felt great on the Edwardsville bench at that time.
"Yeah, we were up 3-1, it felt great," Schlarmann said "It was just like, we hit a wall or something, couldn't keep going. But we were feeling great, but we hit that wall."
Of course, the real winner on the night was Hockey Fights Cancer, a charity that the Tigers have raised thousands of dollars for last season and this season, and Schlarmann also feels that it's a lot of fun to renew friendships and play against the Mid-States teams, which the Tigers did for a number of years.
"Yeah, it's great playing these games," Schlarmann said. "'I've got lots of friends on these teams, and it's always a fun night on Friday to play with them."
The series is scheduled to conclude in early January, and Schlarmann has good feelings about how the remainder of the series will go.
Schlarmann also feels it's such a good thing to play games like these, where the real winner is the charity itself, as the money raised goes towards Hockey Fights Cancer.
"Yeah, it feels great that you're doing something for a good cause," Schlarmann said, "and playing hockey as well. It's always a good fix."
The Tigers are off to another great start, and Schlarmann is looking forward to his contribution towards the team' success.
"You know, just keep scoring," Schlarmann said, "keep getting assists, obviously win. That's all we want, are wins. I am looking to be in the finals next year, and win a championship. We have to keep going."
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