In the final game of the preseason, on Sunday, Oct. 27, the Millard West hockey teams squared off against Elkhorn North at Tim Moylan Tranquility Iceplex.
In their previous two games, Millard West had slowly been improving after falling 8-2 against Creighton Prep in the first game, to cutting the goals against in half in the 4-1 loss to the Tri-City Jr. Storm the week before.
Throughout the first period of play, Millard West was on the attack. Even with multiple lethal power play opportunities within the opening minutes, the Wildcats would be denied due to the goaltending excellence of Elkhorn North. At the other end of the ice, freshman Wildcat goaltender Matthew Scheer was denying shot after shot as the period continued to wind down. The rest of the opening frame would speed by due to a sparse amount of stoppages while the score line remained at 0-0.
“Over the past couple weeks, playing with my new teammates has helped me improve a lot,” Scheer said. “From game to game, we were able to drill flaws from previous games and make them our strengths going into the next game. The previous games that I have played helped me improve. Going into the regular season. I hope to continue reviewing gameplay to address what I did well, and what I need to improve on to hopefully play better and have a more solid game to make the playoff run later in the season.”
Entering the second period, both sides would continue to be snake-bitten offensively. Both sides’ defensive efforts were highlighted by great stick and body positioning until the Wildcats broke through. Just past the four minute mark, freshman forward Alex Beacon received the puck at center ice after a collision. With speed, Beacon entered the zone and fired his shot from the right faceoff circle past the short side of the Elkhorn netminder making it 1-0 Wildcats.
Twenty seconds later, senior defenseman Cole Grandgenett would take the puck coast-to-coast from the Wildcats goal line and cut through the entire Elkhorn North team. From the faceoff circle, Grandgenett would fire his shot to the far side, beating the Elkhorn netminder and doubling the lead.
“Me along with a lot of the returning players on our team have valuable experience playing together,” Grandgenett said. “We’re going to use that against other teams which will be the best advice to the underclassmen this year.”
In the final minutes of the period, Elkhorn started a more aggressive approach but would continue to be continuously denied due to the goaltending excellence of Scheer and great defensive structure from the Wildcats sealing a 2-0 lead heading into the third period.
The third period would resume with both sides balancing their playing style which resulted in less shots on net. After another failed powerplay from the Wildcats, it would take almost the entire period for the next goal. Just before the three minute mark, a faceoff to the left side of Scheer would be won by senior forward Nate Marrinan who found Wilson cutting up ice in stride. Wilson would gash through the Elkhorn North defenders for a breakaway where he would outwait the goaltender and fire his shot past the glove making it 3-0 Wildcats.
In the final remaining minutes, the Wildcat defensive core continued to shine along with Scheer in the net. The few shots that would reach Scheer would prove to be no test as the clock expired, marking his first shutout at the high school level.
“I think the biggest thing for us was learning how we play as a team and are starting to build that team chemistry since we have a lot of new guys,” Wilson said. “I think there was a lot of improvements made during practice to build off the Tri-City and Prep games. To secure the win and more down the line, we just need the second and third line to create more offense and scoring opportunities.”
With this strong finish to the preseason, the Wildcats now prepare for the regular season. With new faces being placed into the lineup, building chemistry and having more offensive depth will be the main focuses headed into the long winter season.
