Armstrong/Cooper boys hockey goes 1-1 to conclude regular season

The Armstrong/Cooper boys hockey team played two games last week to conclude the regular season, losing to Gentry Academy in overtime on Feb. 15, before beating East Ridge on the road on Feb. 17.

Gentry Academy

Armstrong/Cooper boys hockey lost 4-3 in overtime to Gentry Academy on Feb. 15, falling short on a non-conference night where both teams mounted comebacks.

Gentry Academy opened the scoring in the first period, scoring from one of 10 shots. while the Wings had zero shots in the first period. Armstrong/Cooper had moments of potential from the likes of Jameson Essen, Charlie Goergen, and Logan Gatti, but could not find a decisive shot.

For all Gentry Academy dominance in the first period, Armstrong/Cooper responded with a perfect response in the second. After holding off Gentry Academy, who added 11 shots that period, the Wings scored to make it 1-1 at the break.

The goal came from Tanner Rausch and was a prime example of how sometimes the basics decide games. A clean, direct pass to Rausch down the center of the neutral zone opened up a one-on-one with the goaltender, which the Wings forward handled with confidence. Several big saves from junior goaltender Ryan Melsha and sturdy defending by the likes of Dayton Franke, Tanner Cassidy, and Andrew Morgan meant that it was game-on going into the third period.

The Wings started the third period with exceptional energy, finding two early goals, the first by Lewis Majkozak following a series of tight passes around the net, and the second by Goergen on a power play.

The Wings led 3-1, but Gentry Academy was not done for the night. The visitors scored two goals in the final two minutes with their own net empty to tie the game up with seconds left at 3-3. Gentry Academy led 30-10 on shots.

Jacob Guille, who had scored Gentry Academy’s tying goal, then scored a winner for the visitors in the final minutes of overtime to win 4-3.

East Ridge

Armstrong/Cooper responded well two days later, beating East Ridge 4-2 in their final game of the regular season on Feb. 17 to improve their overall record to 12-13.

Rausch had the only goal of the first period and scored again in the second after East Ridge briefly tied the game up at 1-1. Essen and Mac Murphy joined in later on to build the lead before East Ridge scored their final goal.

Armstrong/Cooper boys hockey will take part in the Section 6AA tournament as the sixth seed the following week, traveling to play Benilde-St. Margaret’s at the St. Louis Park Recreation Center on Thursday, Feb. 22.