By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
DE PERE — The last time the Bay Port and De Pere hockey teams matched up, it was a six-goal differential.
This go-around was much different, as Bay Port defeated De Pere 6-4 in a Fox River Classic Conference game Feb. 4 at the De Pere Ice Arena.
“We knew it would be a much tighter game,” Bay Port Head Coach Mike Buchan said. “Both teams played well. Every time we were going to pull away, they had an answer. They fought us right to the bitter end.”
The Voyageurs controlled much of the first 10 minutes of the game offensively, despite not tallying a goal.
With about six minutes remaining in the opener, Ryan Hilbert found the back of the net for a 1-0 Pirates’ lead.
Bay Port didn’t stop there, as Konor Tignall scored his first of the night 22 seconds later for a 2-0 advantage.
“When you see De Pere in this building, they are a different team,” Buchan said. “They brought it to us at the start. We got a fortunate bounce on the first one. To get a second goal and a lead was big on the road.”
The Voyageurs didn’t go away, however, as AJ Butrymowicz scored on a third-opportunity rebound to cut the deficit in half heading into the first intermission.
The second period featured a flurry of goals in a short time.
The Pirates went up 3-1 20 seconds into the second, but the Voyageurs evened the contest at 3-3 after quick goals by Butrymowicz and Garrett Foth.
The deadlock was short-lived, as freshman forward Will Lyons won the faceoff and scored on a wrist shot to put Bay Port back up 4-3 with 13 minutes left in the middle period.
“(Lyons) is a dynamic player,” Buchan said. “If you give him some room, he can hurt you. I’m not sure if De Pere let its guard down on the faceoff, but Will took the puck right down to put us back up.”
After an exchange of goals to end the second period and to open the third, the Pirates held a precarious 5-4 lead.
Bay Port took two minor infractions midway through the final period but got four shots on goal while shorthanded, killing off both penalties.
With about a minute remaining, the Voyageurs pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker.
They received a great look from Tanner Newton, but he was stoned by Pirates goalie Devin Rustlie.
With the clock winding down, Bay Port got a break when a De Pere player whiffed on a puck, and Nick Voss went coast-to-coast for the final nail in the coffin.
“Lucky for us, (De Pere) had the little slip up at the end, and Voss went down and scored,” Buchan said. “We treated this as a playoff game. You have to win the battles upfront. We’re playing good hockey right now with a young team. We need those tight games. I’m proud of the resilience.”