Knights advance to MVCHA Championship
By Ray Popkess
For the first time since 2020, the Triad Knights are competing for a 1A Mississippi Valley Club Hockey Association Championship. The Knights have advanced past the first round every year since, but had not gotten over the second round hump until they beat the Highland Bulldogs last week in a best-of-three game series.
The Knights took game one by a final of 5-3 on Monday, Feb. 9 at East Alton Ice Arena. Goalie Max Katich stopped 40 of 43 shots from the Bulldogs, with the Knights only putting up 24 shots on goal.
Game two was played at the RP Lumber Center in Edwardsville on Thursday, Feb. 12. The game was initially supposed to be played on Tuesday, Feb. 10, but due to carbon-monoxide poisoning contracted by players on the bench at East Alton Ice Arena, the game was postponed.
Triad had a promising start to the second game, earning a power play within the first three minutes but making nothing of it.
Lakin Rosenburg was going to work in front of Highland’s net around the six minute mark when a loose rebound off Wade Konieczny’s pad found Rosenburg’s skate, a puck that ricocheted into the back of the net but was waved “no goal” by the official.
Aston Blevins earned the first true goal for the Knights when he picked up a rebound from a Nolyn Moore wrist shot during a power play at 3:55.
Blevins made the game 2-0 when he received a pass from Jackson McFarland on the forecheck and sniped a wrister toward the post on the goalie’s glove side. Ping and the Triad student section erupted.
Moore picked up another point in the second period when he put the Knights up 3-0 after flipping a puck on net towards a Highland stick. Instead of clearing the puck behind the net, the Bulldog flipped the puck past his own goalie.
McFarland found paydirt when he skated the puck into the offensive zone during a power play with 3:08 left in the second period. His quick wrist shot fit perfectly between the Highland goalie’s glove and left pad, putting the Knights up 4-0.
Kyson Hoyt answered back immediately for the Bulldogs when he found the back of the net at 2:57.
Luke Gunter picked up Highland’s second goal when he scored during a Triad line change in the third period. His wrist shot was disguised by a Triad defender in Katich’s line of sight and zipped right past the Knight goalie, stick side.
In a desperation attempt to find a way to cut the deficit in half, Highland pulled their goalie with 1:08 left to play. Rosenburg iced the game when he sent a long shot toward an empty net, despite being on a shift with a two-skater disadvantage.
By a final score of 5-2, Triad clinched their spot in the MVCHA Championship round and will take on the Columbia Eagles this week for the trophy. With Game One concluding on Tuesday Feb. 17 at East Alton Ice Arena, Game Two will be played on Thursday, Feb. 19 at the McKendree Metro Rec Plex at 7:30 p.m. A potential Game Three will be played at RP Lumber Center on Monday, Feb. 23 at 8:15 p.m., if necessary.
