Boys hockey: Split personalities in Panthers' loss
| Boys hockey: Split personalities in Panthers' loss |
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Sports Editor Co-head coaches Rick Fleming and Brad Mastenbrook knew despite coming off a sound whupping of an outmatched Eastside Lakers squad last week that the team’s effort would not be indicative of its upcoming test Tuesday against the non-conference Janesville co-op. A young group without a wealth of varsity experience, the Panthers looked the part at times on Tuesday, falling behind 3-1 through two periods. “Instead of working hard away from the puck and trying to get shoulder checks, and to read time and space, we are playing timid, turning the puck over and throwing it away when we have time and space,” Fleming said. One of the things that needs to change is the feeling in the locker room Fleming said, “it was just a very somber type atmosphere down 3-1. Certain guys were giving up, and I’m not used to that.” Oregon found a way to draw even thanks to the efforts of Nick Strycharske and Alec Vanko, who scored just over a minute a part. “There’s a lesson to be learned there,” Fleming said. “We were down 3-1, and we told the guys to stay positive. We came back and tied the game against a pretty good Janesville team.” Taking a series of penalties from there however, the Panthers’ good fortune finally ran out when Trevor Kelly buried his man-advantage penalty goal with just under two minutes remaining. “You can’t take dumb penalties late in the game if you’re going to be successful,” Fleming said. “They were bad penalties. We have to address and learn from that.” Tanner Woodman officially sunk Oregon’s hopes of a comeback, gaining possession of the puck in the neutral zone and firing an empty-net goal into the twice with just under a minute remaining. Oregon started the game strong, as senior forward Nick Ayers blasted a shot past Lewis from the right circle four minutes into the first period. Janesville knotted the score seven minutes later thanks to Bradan Perkins before eventually taking a 3-1 lead on a pair of Woodman second-period goals. Fleming and Mastenbrook knew coming into this season their was going to be a learning curve for both coaches and players. “It’s a learning curve for both, probably more so for the team than Brad and I as coaches,” Fleming said. “We’re not going to chance our philosophy. I think it’s them that have to understand that. “I think our younger guys are buying into our philosophy, but I don’t think we have older guys buying in as much as we need to. “When I say that, I don’t think they really understand how hard it its to win hockey games and be great. That’s the kind of culture we are trying to create.” Oregon 8, Lakers 0 Alex Robson and Zach Eyers each scored a pair of goals as the host Panthers trounced the visiting Eastside Lakers 8-0 to open the season last Tuesday. The coaching debut of co-head coaches Fleming and Mastenbrook, Jackson Schneider (1G, 2A), Ayers (1G, 2A) and Vanko (1G, 1A) all recorded at least two points. Nate Anderson added Oregon’s final goal. In total, the Panthers saw goals from all three lines and from six different scorers. Things for Oregon are “still a work in progress,” Mastenbrook said. “We took a step forward from our scrimmage, but it’s constantly evolving and there’s a lot more work that needs to be done.” Kyle Carignan turned aside a measly 10 saves, while the Panthers peppered the other end of the ice with 52 shots on goal. |
![Oregon sophomore Jackson Schneider (9) battles for a loose puck during Tuesday evening’s 5-3 loss to the non-conference Janesville co-op. The Panthers scored two goals early in the third to knot the score before giving up a costly power-play goal. [Photo by Jeremy Jones]](http://www.oregonobserver.com/SiteImages/Article/3358a.jpg)
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