ICE HOCKEY: West Windsor-Plainsboro North skate off with an abbreviated 3-1 victory Wednesday when the ice at Mercer County Park was deemed too dangerous.
By: Neil Hay
Wednesday’s bad ice at Mercer County Park rink serves as a perfect metaphor for the kind of season the Hightstown hockey team is undergoing.
Rough and inconsistent with holes in it.
The holes in the ice behind the net were so deep that the concrete floor below was exposed. With the ice deemed too dangerous and beyond repair, the game was halted after two periods of play. And West Windsor-North skated off with the abbreviated 3-1 victory.
Coach Phil Eichinger said later that his players could have rallied in the third period and pulled this game out had it been resumed. But he did not really sound convinced.
"We didn’t play too well," admitted Eichinger. "The backchecking was terrible, the first line lazy getting back to the zone. (Goalie) Dale (Sokol) faced 29 shots. He made the saves.
"We have to put more pucks in the net. We are still doing useless moves out there. Extra stuff."
Brett Ruina’s goal in the second period brought the Rams to within one goal, 2-1. But North got that back before the period ended.
Riding the wave of a five-game winning streak, one might think that Hightstown had a pretty good chance to knock off Hopewell Valley when the two teams met in a key CVC hockey matchup last Friday.
Certainly Eichinger had a right to anticipate something more favorable than a disappointing 7-3 loss to the Bulldogs.
"I expected better things," admitted Eichinger after the Rams fell to 11-7 while Hopewell improved to 12-5-2.
When Adam Tousant scored the game’s first goal, there was reason for optimism. But the situation turned south thereafter as the Bulldogs scored three unanswered goals to lead 3-1 going into the final period of play. Hopewell Valley then netted the first two goals of the third period, and four of the six goals scored in the 15-minute session, to win by a comfortable margin.
In all the Bulldogs had 39 shots to 24 for the Rams. Sokol made 32 saves in a losing cause. Tousant finished with two goals, and Ruina had one.
"It was a horrible game. It got ugly. We didn’t really play a strong game," said Eichinger.
According to the coach, Hopewell Valley likes to shoot the puck, anytime and from anywhere in the offensive zone. It was the Rams’ coverage in their defensive end – or lack of it – that contributed to the outcome. The defense did not do a good job keeping the puck out of the Rams’ end of the ice.
"Dale still made 32 saves. He is doing his job. They had a lot of rebound goals. They like to shoot from everywhere."
The Rams are now 11-8 and have lost two straight after winning five in a row. Like Wednesday’s ice, this team can be rough, dangerous and inconsistent.
"We are very inconsistent. We are not going in a straight line here. The players don’t realize we are a good team. They can’t do that. They are not ready yet for the playoffs. They have to get serious to play this sport at a high level," said Eichinger.