Ice Panthers Edge Talawanda (12-11-2009)
The resurgent Springboro Varsity Ice Panthers eked out a 3-2 victory Friday December 11th at South Metro Ice. The Panthers fell behind 9 minutes into the first period 1-0 on a goal by Talawanda's Chris Osbourne. Senior center Sven Weisser knotted the score with a power play goal at 3:37 of the second period on an assist from Matt Wourms. About one minute later, Talawanda's Ryan Marks slid a rebound past Springboro junior goalie Tyler Oldiges for a 2-1 lead. Once again the resilient Panthers gained the momentum back on a tying goal by senior Daniel Hoffman on an assist from senior Zach Schretzman at 6:58 of the second period. At 11:44 of the 3rd period Talawanda took a 5 minute major penalty on an ill advised boarding call. Springboro freshman defenseman Travis Studzinski fired the puck off the Talawanda goalie's face mask and into the net for the game winner at 3:37 of the third. The Panther's second power play goal of the night was assisted by DJ Studzinski and Sven Weisser. Springboro held on for the victory with several key saves by goalie Tyler Oldiges. For the game he saved 25 of 27 shots for an impressive 92.5% save percentage.
The win improved the Panthers record for the season to 5-3, good enough for a second place tie in the SWOSHL South Division. The Varsity Panthers travel to Cincinnati to take on St. Xavier next Saturday December 19th and are back home to face the currently undefeated Beavercreek Beavers on Sunday December 20th. Springboro is coached by third year head coach Tony Morris. Assistant coaches are Dan Pike, Robert Fleck and Coach Stover. The team manager is Barb Wourms.
Ice Panthers Defuse Bombers (12-19-2009)
On Saturday December 19th the Springboro Varsity ice hockey team traveled to Cincinnati Gardens to take on the St. Xavier Bombers. The Panthers came out strong and scored early and often to gain a convincing 7 to 4 victory. The win marked their second victory over the Bombers this season, having beaten them by a score of 6 to 3 on December 5th.
It took the Panthers only 1:18 into the game to score their first goal on a nifty assist from Sven Weisser to junior Matt Wourms who buried the puck for an early lead. Sophomore winger Andrew Straus also assisted on the play. Springboro had trouble clearing the puck out of their defensive zone and after a bad turnover St X knotted the score with 7:52 remaining in the first period. Three minutes later Straus put the Panthers back on top with an unassisted goal. Center Zach Schretzman finished the first period scoring with 23 ticks left on the clock. Assists were from junior Pete Schaaf and freshman defenseman Grant Hazel. At the end of one period the Panthers led three to one.
Springboro scored the only two goals in the second period. 4:44 into the period freshman winger Austin Reynolds picked up a rebound of a slapshot and found the net for a four to one lead. The assists went to the Studzinski brothers, DJ and Travis. The Panthers fifth goal came on the power play when Grant Hazel's slapshot from the right point snuck through traffic. Hazel's goal was assisted by Pete Schaaf and Matt Wourms. The Panthers dominance was aided by some undisciplined play by St. X resulting in numerous penalties and at one time the Bombers had five players in the sin bin.
To start the third period the Bombers penalty woes continued. Boro took advantage and scored two more power play goals. The first one came quickly, 1:02 into the third Matt Wourms scored his second goal of the evening unassisted. Sven Weisser capped off the scoring barrage with another unassisted goal with 10:32 left in the game to put the game out of reach. The seven to one lead seemed to give Springboro “bigleaditis” and they got a little sloppy allowing St. X to score the last three goals of the game. The final score was Springboro seven and St. Xavier four.
The Panthers turned in another disciplined game with only two penalties. Sophomore goalie Stephan Schuetz faced twenty one shots in the game stopping seventeen for a save percentage of 81%.. The win brings their record to six wins and three losses on the season. The Panthers have no time to rest as Beavercreek looms tomorrow night at South Metro Ice.
Ice Panthers Dismantle Beavers (12-20-2009)
The Springboro Varsity ice hockey team completed a good weekend of hockey by beating a very good Beavercreek Beavers team 6 to 1. Beavercreek came into the game with a sparkling 12 and 1 record. The Panthers out skated, outhit and outworked the Beavers on their way to a convincing victory.
Springboro scored first just over five minutes into the first period on a goal by sophomore winger Andrew Straus. Assists were by Matt Wourms and Sven Weisser. The Panthers scored again at 10:28 of the first period when defenseman DJ Studzinski netted the game winning goal on the power play. Assists were again by Weisser and Wourms. Ten minutes and thirteen seconds into the second period Zach Schretzman scored the Panthers third goal of the evening on assists from wingers Daniel Hoffman and Joey Urman. One minute later, Creek's Pavi Kullar finally got one by Springboro goalie Tyler Oldiges to make it a game again. But that was as close as the Beavers would get. This night belonged to the Panthers. The determined Panthers came out firing in the third period and put 3 more goals on the board in the span of 2 ½ minutes. The fourth goal was scored by Matt Wourms from Weisser(his third assist of the night) and Andrew Straus. Daniel Hoffman scored the fifth goal on a pretty assist from Schretzman and freshman Grant Hazel. Senior Sven Weisser capped the scoring on an unassisted goal with ten minutes remaining in the game. From there the Panthers continually frustrated the Beavers with strong defense and good fore checking.
Shots for the game were 29 to 27 in favor of the Panthers. Boro goalie Tyler Oldiges stopped 28 of 29 shots for an impressive 96.5% save percentage. The win improves the Panthers record to 7 and 3. They will be riding a three game winning streak into their next game against Centerville on Monday December 28th at South Metro Ice.
Panther's Win Streak Halted at Three (12-28-09)
The Panther's winning streak came to a screeching halt Monday December 28th at the hands of the Centerville Elks. The game was played with great intensity on both sides. Many of these players know one another from past play and that makes for a little extra emotion. The play was fast and physical with numerous big hits. Scoring opportunities were limited for both teams. There was no scoring through the first two periods. Springboro had two power play chances and Centerville one. Shots after two periods were thirteen for Boro and eight for the Elks.
Forty six seconds into the third period the Elks Tyler Bottermuller picked up a rebound and put it home to score the first goal of the game. Centerville's second goal was scored eight minutes fifty six seconds into the period on a rebound by Eddie Koman. With the score two to nothing in favor of the Elk's, the Boro players skated with a sense of desperation. Boro coach Tony Morris pulled goalie Stefan Schuetz with a little over a minute to play in an attempt to make it a one goal game. Unfortunately, the puck squirted out into the neutral zone where Centerville's Tyler Bottermuller sent it into the empty Boro net for the third and final goal of the evening. Final score Centerville three, Springboro zero.
For the game Springboro tallied 23 shots to 16 for Centerville. The Panthers skated with the Elks stride for stride and hit for hit but were just unable to get anything going offensively. They were zero for five on the power play. They will have to improve on that when the two teams face off again on January 30th in league play.
Resilient Panthers Bounce Creek (12-29-09)
Tuesday December 29th was gut check time for the Springboro Panthers hockey team. They had lost a frustrating game the night before to Centerville even though they had out shot the Elks 23 to 16. The next night they were matched up against Beavercreek, one of the favorites in the league this year. It didn't take long to see how they would respond. They put pressure on the Beavercreek team from the drop of the puck, out shooting the Beavers 14 to 4 in the first period. However, Creek goalie Kyle McClure made several highlight saves to extend the Panthers scoreless period streak to four. 3:39 into the second period the Panthers went on the power play. DJ Studzinski won the draw back to Travis Studzinski who slid the puck over to Sammy Berg. Bang! Slapshot goal. One nothing Panthers.
The Panthers were back on the power play to start the third period. The puck took an unfortunate bounce and squirted out of their offensive zone. Creek captain Matt Green picked up the loose puck with a full head of steam. He scored a breakaway goal to tie it at one. The Panthers were unfazed. Less than two minutes later, captain Zach Schretzman scored an unassisted breakaway goal to put the Boro squad back on top. Then with ten minutes remaining in the game, Sven Weisser tallied the eventual game winner on assists from Andrew Straus and Matt Wourms. The drama was far from over. Less than a minute later Creek's Zach Noble fired a loose puck behind Boro goalie Tyler Oldiges to creep back within one. The Beavers applied pressure, but Springboro was up to the task. To make things tougher, Boro was assessed a penalty with 2:14 remaining in the game. Creek pulled their goalie for an all out 6 on 4 assault. Boro's defenders worked hard but could not clear the puck from their zone. Oldiges made numerous saves during the flurry to preserve the dramatic win. For the game he saved 21 of 23 shots. When the dust had settled, the final score was Boro 3, Creek 2.
The Panthers have no time to savor the victory as Troy(who defeated Centerville earlier in the evening) looms tomorrow night.
Panthers Ice Hockey Wins Mayors Cup Tourney (12-30-09)
On Wednesday December 30th, the Springboro varsity hockey team beat Troy 3-0 to win the Mayors Cup tournament for the first time in the school's history. The win coupled with Beavercreek's defeat of Centerville made the Panthers tourney champs. The win improves their record to 9win, 4 losses. They are currently ranked 10th in the district and looking to move up.
The game started slowly with both teams having many chances but unable to convert anything into a goal. Boro goalie Stefan Schuetz stood strong in net turning away all 17 Troy shots to notch his second shutout of the Trojans in as many tries.
The Panthers got on the board at the 13:38 mark of the first period when sophomore winger Andrew Straus found the net off of a Zach Schretzman assist. The game was dominated by strong defensive play and good goaltending. At the end of the second period the score remained 1-0 Springboro. The Panthers got a little breathing room 2:37 into the third period when freshman Austin Reynolds scored unassisted. Matt Wourms added the final goal of the evening with 3:56 remaining with an assist from Sven Weisser.
For the game the Panthers outshot the Trojans 25 to 17. Boro goalie Stefan Schuetz stood strong in net stopping all 17 Troy shots for a perfect 100% save percentage. The Panthers also continued to play disciplined hockey with three or fewer penalties in each of the last 6 games. Springboro is off until January 8th when they host the Springboro Shootout.