As the saying goes, revenge is a dish best served cold. The Icecats took that advice to heart on Friday, Jan. 5, serving up a 6-3 win to the Whitman Vikings, avenging a 5-1 loss to the Vikings in early November.
The Icecats started the new year with an exhibition scrimmage against the Urbana Hawks on Tuesday, Jan. 2, losing 6-4, while the Vikings had not played since before winter break, where they lost 3-2 to Upper Montgomery on Friday, Dec. 15.
Friday was also the Vikings’ senior night, which led to the decision to start senior goalie Otto Lukanic. Lukanic normally splits starts with freshman Alexander Minkoff on Whitman’s junior varsity team but was called up for his first time in between the pipes for the varsity Vikings. On JV this year, in five games played and four games started, Lukanic had averaged 2.26 GAA and a .933 save percentage.
However, Lukanic’s start in varsity was less than stellar, as he allowed 5 goals in a one-sided first period. Sophomore defender Oliver Curtis first scored 8 minutes in, followed by a power play goal from freshman Ruslan Titov. Titov had started the season as a defenseman but had been moved up as a forward, where he played on Friday as the first line left winger.
“I’m happy to play [forward] because there are more opportunities, more movement with the puck and of course more chances to score goals,” Titov said.
The Icecat’s momentum was briefly interrupted by Whitman junior Morrison Cohen who lit the lamp on Whitman’s power play. However, the Icecats surged ahead with three goals by Titov, senior captain Brendan Klotz and sophomore Henry Horwell, respectively. Klotz and Horwell’s goals were shorthanded goals scored on the same tripping penalty against senior Sam Mayster, ending the period with a 5-1 Icecats lead.
In total, Lukanic recorded 12 saves on 17 shots for a .706 save percentage. In comparison, Icecats starting goalie Isaac Russ recorded 27 saves on 30 shots for a .900 save percentage, earning him the game puck at the end of the game. By save percentage, Russ’ season .863% is currently third-best in the conference (minimum five games started).
When the Icecats and Vikings started the second period, Whitman’s regular starting goalie junior Ryan Graf retook his place in net, marking the third game in a row where the opposing team pulled their goalie against WJ.
Whitman would score twice more, once in the second period by senior Thomas Rouxel and once in the third by junior Nicholas Haguely to come within two goals at 5-3. With 1:53 remaining, Whitman head coach Andrew Dexter pulled Graf in favor of a sixth skater, only to have the empty net scored on by senior Jon Corwin with one second remaining, ending the game 6-3.
“The win means a lot to the whole team and proves that we can be a competitive team for playoffs,“ junior forward Cameron Luskin said.
The win over Whitman vaulted the Icecats into second in the Montgomery Hockey Conference with their 7-2-1 record. Riding a four-game win streak, the Icecats look to finish the season strong. The next and final game of the Icecats regular season will come on Friday, Jan. 26 at 8:10 p.m. against the Wootton Patriots (7-3-0), who sit fourth in the conference. The top four teams in the conference will advance to the postseason playoffs.
