Maumee High School Hockey Team Hands Bedford Its First NHC Loss
BY NATE LOWE — MIRROR SPORTS
Maumee hockey coach Scott Young may not have any fingernails left to chew after his team’s 3-2 victory over Bedford last Friday night at BGSU.
After forwards Jake Schneider and Sam Molnar were whistled for consecutive penalties in the closing minutes of the first period, giving Bedford a 5-on-3 power play for two minutes, Young feared the worst.
“When I saw that happening, I had a flashback to last time we played them,” he said.
Maumee committed 20 penalties and allowed six power-play goals in an 11-1 loss to first-place Bedford on January 6. This time they were called for eight penalties and handed the Kicking Mules their first Northwest Hockey Conference loss.
“We played with a lot more determination, a lot more brain power and a lot more energy,” said Young, whose Panthers (10-11, 4-4 NHC) remain in third place in the White’s American Division with 14 points.
Second-place Monroe Jefferson leads the Panthers by one point in the standings after knocking off Perrysburg.
“We were able to cut down on the penalties and realized that stupid hockey doesn’t get it done,” Young said.
Bedford (12-6, 8-1 NHC) attacked the Maumee net often on the power play and mustered eight shots, but sophomore goaltender Stephen Klocko stood his ground with several dazzling saves.
“We got to that fork in the road and we went the right way this time,” Young said. “We kept our composure and played good hockey.”
Maumee’s defense swatted the puck out of its zone several times to complete one of its six successful penalty kills in the game.
Junior center Matt Young, who finished with two assists, had his stick jarred loose on the power play and was forced to expose his body and step in front of several Bedford shots.
“I was biting my nails because we have struggled on the penalty kills all season,” Coach Young said. “I panicked and I was freaking, but we held them off. That was the difference in the game tonight.”
Molnar provided Maumee with a 1-0 lead after scoring a short-handed goal less than seven minutes into the first period.
The junior intercepted a Bedford pass in his own zone and raced past two defenders in the neutral zone. He skated toward the right circle and fired a shot at goaltender Adam Glick before losing his balance.
Glick blocked the shot with his stick but was unable to glove the bouncing puck, which slid between his legs, across the goal line and into the net.
“I started falling and just shot it – trying to get it on net – and got a lucky bounce,” said Molnar, who has notched five goals in his last two games.
Molnar struck again with 2:26 remaining in the first period, this time with a power-play goal that gave Maumee a 2-0 lead, when he gathered a rebound and wristed a shot past Glick, who had yet to get back onto his feet.
Jake Schneider, who put the Panthers up 3-0 midway through the second period with his fourth goal in two games, fired a slap shot from the right point that caromed off of Glick’s pads.
Molnar picked up the loose puck in the slot and beat Glick with his second goal of the game and 25th of the season.
“He’s so quick side to side and he can cut off the angles so well,” Schneider said of Glick, who turned away 27 shots. “His move from post to post makes it tough to score. He’s alert and always knows where the puck is.
“We were fortunate to get out to an early lead. He shut us down after that.”
Maumee did not score after the 8:07 mark in the second period. The Mules netted a pair of goals in a 1:46 span late into the second period.
Junior forward Noah Szenderski cut the deficit to 3-1 with 4:50 remaining in the period when he intercepted a Maumee pass on his own blue line, skated to Klocko’s left and beat the rookie goalie high glove side.
Grant McCormack added a power-play goal with 3:04 remaining to get the Mules to within one, but Klocko and his dragging defense held up for the final 18 minutes.
“We were dead tired,” Young said. “My starters can barely move right now. They poured it on. I wasn’t sure if I could have gotten one more shift out of them.”
Klocko turned away 23-of-25 shots to pick up his 10th win.
After surrendering 11 goals in his last meeting with Bedford, Klocko said he felt as if he had something to prove.
“Everything was working well tonight,” Klocko said. “This was something I wanted to prove to everybody, that I could come out and win this game.”
Prior to the game, Klocko paced back and forth outside the Maumee locker room. He then spent several minutes warming up with teammates, who took turns shooting a plastic puck at the fully padded netminder.
“He was nervous before the game,” Young said, “but you would never know it. He played smooth – like a seasoned pro.”
Klocko has allowed just three goals in his last two games. He turned away 12 shots in a blowout win over Clay a week earlier.
“They all knew what was at stake tonight,” Young said. “They did all the little things right and pulled it out.”