BY RICH PALZEWIC
CORRESPONDENT
ASHWAUBENON – For the second year in a row, the Bay Port hockey team couldn’t find a way to beat Notre Dame in the Fox River Classic Conference tournament at the Cornerstone Community Center in Ashwaubenon.
The No. 4 seeded Pirates (5-14-1) couldn’t stay out of the penalty box in a 5-0 loss to the Tritons (12-6-1) in the semifinals of the tournament Jan. 26.
No. 1 seeded Notre Dame came into the game scoring at a 29-percent clip on the power play and was 4-of-5 on the night with the man advantage.
“You hit the nail on the head,” said Bay Port head coach Mike Buchan when asked about the penalty trouble. “When you play good teams like that you can’t take silly penalties. You’re going to take penalties during a game, but they have to be hard-nosed, hard-working and aggressive penalties. Every one of ours that we took was terrible and they made us pay. I didn’t think we played very well, but when you play in those kinds of games, you have to stay disciplined. Our guys know that… we are a better team than that. It’s that time of the year that things like that shouldn’t happen. We haven’t had a lot of games like that this year – we’ve worked hard and done a lot of good things, but this game and our penalties will be addressed.”
The Pirates had six penalties for 12 minutes of time. Notre Dame scored two power-play goals in both the first and third periods and added another tally late in the first for all the scoring.
“I thought we played better in the second and third periods, but then again you can’t come across the slot and crosscheck guys in the back,” added Buchan. “Part of it I’m sure was frustration, but at the same time we have to control that. Notre Dame is a good hockey team and they do a lot of good things. In order for us to be successful against teams like that, staying out of the penalty box is the most important thing.”
Bay Port actually had its own power play just 25 seconds into the game but couldn’t convert. Eight minutes later, the Tritons went on a 5-on-3 power play and scored two goals in a one-minute span.
After a scoreless second period, Notre Dame scored just 38 seconds into the third and then again 2 ½ minutes later.
The Tritons outshot the Pirates by a 33-16 margin on the night. Bay Port goalie Riley Baye stopped 28 of the 33 shots he saw, while Notre Dame goalie Bo Buckley was perfect in the game.
Bryce Poshak had two goals and an assist, while Charlie Wied, Daniel Laatsch and Spencer Allen all scored for the Tritons, who have won two in a row after a three-game losing streak. Laatsch also added two assists.
Box Score
Bay Port: 0, 0, 0 – 0
Notre Dame: 3, 0, 2 – 5
First period: 1, ND, Bryce Poshak (Logan Braun), 8:15 (5×3 pp); 2, ND, Daniel Laatsch (Brendan Poshak), 9:14 (pp); 3, ND, Charlie Wied (Sam Peterman, Jacob Conrad), 14:12.
Second period: No scoring.
Third period: 4, ND, Spencer Allen (Bryce Poshak, Laatsch), 0:38 (pp); 5, ND, Bryce Poshak (Laatsch), 3:07 (pp).
Shots on goal: BP: 5, 4, 7 – 16; ND: 15, 9, 9 – 33.
Goalies: BP, Riley Baye (33 shots, 28 saves); ND, Bo Buckley (16 shots, 16 saves).
Power-play opportunities: BP, 0-for-3; ND, 4-for-5.
Penalties: BP, 6-12; ND, 4-8.
