The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
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Hornets break through for first win, 3-0
PUBLISHED: February 15, 2007
The wait is over. The weight is off.
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The Saline hockey team grabbed its first win of the season Friday in Trenton as part of the Hockey Showcase tournament, decisively defeating Dearborn Unified 3-0.
"We were more aggressive. We anticipated the play intelligently. The defense was confident and (goalie) Chuck (Schneider) was solid in the net," said a relieved Hornet head coach Drew Denzin. "It was our first complete 45-minute game this year. But this is not a Cinderella story. This is expected."
The Hornets got a big lift from the return of injured senior captain Jay Birko, who took the ice for the first time this season.
After a scoreless first period, the Hornets took the second period face-off and Kelly O'Sullivan scored the first of his two goals on passes from Birko and junior forward Randy Schilke.
The Hornets doubled their lead five minutes later. Schilke chipped the puck into the offensive zone to O'Sullivan, who left a drop pass for sophomore defenseman Sean MacNeil. MacNeil sent a blistering slap shot from the right point top shelf past the Dearborn goalie, giving Saline a 2-0 lead.
Saline buried any hope of a Dearborn comeback on the first shift of the third period. MacNeil carried the puck around the left defense for a shot that rebounded out to O'Sullivan, charging hard down the slot. The senior finished the scoring play to put Saline up 3-0 and seal the Hornets' first victory. O'Sullivan finished with three points on the night.
The Hornet defense played arguably its bets game of the season, limiting Dearborn to only 10 shots, while Schneider posted his first shutout of the season.
While crediting the play of his entire team, Denzin also said that the return of Birko had been big for the Hornets.
"Getting Jay back made us feel whole as a team," he said. "No. 19 was one of many reasons the team won."
The team had started to build momentum toward Friday's win with a solid performance in a Wednesday night draw against Bedford in Toledo. The Hornets carried the play and outshot the Mules by a wide margin, but a MacNeil goal was the only tally for Saline and Bedford hung on for a 1-1 draw.
The Hornets met the University of Detroit Cubs Saturday in a showcase afternoon game as freshman Nick Colarossi got the call between the pipes. The Hornet offense continued its strong play from the night before, but the defense struggled as Saline absorbed a 7-4 loss.
Saline jumped out to a 1-0 lead as Birko took passes from Cory Farrell and O'Sullivan, and slipped a backhand shot past the Cub goalie only eleven seconds into the game.
But the Cubs scored the next three goals, one on the power play and one short handed, to take control in the second period. With 22 seconds left in the second, Birko scored his second, sending a backhand shot through a melee in front of the net to cut the lead to 3-2. Assistant captain Grant Phillips and Farrell had assists on the play.
U of D scored again early in the third, but Saline replied on the power play, with Farrell burying a slap shot from between the circles with assists to Birko and Schilke.
The Cubs scored the next three goals, however, to push their lead to 7-3 and put the game out of reach. O'Sullivan finished the Hornet scoring late after passes from Birko and sophomore Ryan Luke.
The Hornets, now 1-15-5 on the season, return to action against Dearborn 7 p.m. Saturday at the Arctic Coliseum during Senior Night.
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