Cool on ice
WARRENDALE — Mars hockey coach Steve Meyers hasn't been happy with the way his team has played for the past six weeks.
After starting the season 11-1, the Planets were just 6-4 since mid-January, including an ugly loss to Thomas Jefferson and two defeats against Quaker Valley.
The things that dogged Mars during the final 10 games of the regular season didn't carry over to the Penguins Cup Class A playoffs as the Planets dominated Serra Catholic on the way to a 10-0 win in the postseason opener at BladeRunners Tuesday night.
“We haven't had a good month. We had some bad losses and hadn't been playing well,” Meyers said. “The guys came out and put up a first period we haven't put up in months.”
Mars (18-5) wasted little time against overmatched Serra Catholic (5-17-1), scoring three goals in the first 4:45 of the game and taking a 6-0 lead after one period.
The Planets had nine different players score a goal and out-shot the Eagles 61-6 in the blowout.
“It really helped us get back some confidence,” said forward Craig Mazzotta, who scored two goals to go with three assists in the win. “It will just help us to keep rolling through the playoffs like this. We just need to keep coming out every game and play with the same intensity we did tonight.”
Lost in the offensive explosion was the play of the Planets defense — a unit that had struggled as of late.
Not on Tuesday. Serra Catholic couldn't mount much of an attack against Mars.
“This was one of our best defensive games all year,” Mazzotta said. “I was really happy with it. Hopefully we'll keep it up.”
The loneliest player on the ice was Mars goalie Tyler Spreng, who stopped all six shots he faced.
“We just told him, even if he doesn't see any shots, to stretch and stay warm,” Mazzotta said, smiling. “It's hard to stay focused when you're not getting anything on you.”
That wasn't a problem for Eagles' goalie Ian Ritchie. After a rocky start, he did have a solid second period as Mars could only push through one power-play goal off the stick of Paul Maust.
Mars, though, really broke the game open in the third, scoring two goals six second apart.
Ian Houk-Graves added a goal and three assists for Mars, which spread around the puck and the points.
“It's such a great feeling knowing everyone can contribute,” Mazzotta said. “It's not just the first-line guys, its the other lines that can do something, too.”
Mars will have to wait to get back on the ice until Monday when it will face an undetermined opponent.
This was a step in the right direction, Meyers said.
“When our 'D' plays with confidence, we're a tough team to beat,” Meyers said. “We've been working really hard in practice and it was nice to see it pay off. We just have to carry it into the next game.
“It's really important to have three lines that can score,” Meyers added. “When we get down the line into the deeper teams, that's what you need.”
