Winning four games in a row is on every hockey coach’s wish list.
Doing it in front of hometown fans while hosting a tournament is a bonus.
The Edge Mountaineers’ Boys’ Prep hockey team swept its games during the inaugural Mid-West Prep Hockey League’s West Weekend, beating Gilmour Academy 4-1, Shady Side Academy 8-0, Lake Forest Academy 2-1 and Loyola Academy 5-2, between Jan. 28 and 30.
Mountaineers’ head coach Tyler Deis said sweeping the weekend was great, but winning all of the rare home games was also significant.
“They were probably equally important,” he said. “The four wins were big and put us in first in that league and that was definitely one of our objectives going in. But it was also good to get the team to come up here and let the hometown fans, and the school, see how it is. We played pretty good hockey this weekend.”
In its first game, on Jan. 28, the Mountaineers used a three-goal third period to propel themselves to a 4-1 victory over the Gilmour Academy from outside Cleveland, Ohio.
Joel Hamilton had two goals, while James Robinson and Cam Amantea added singles.
Netminder Jared D’Amico made 23 saves for the win.
“They’ve always been one of the top programs in the MPHL, but they’re a little bit down this year,” Deis said. “A couple years ago, it was the other way when we played against them. We had to play the perfect game to give ourselves a chance.”
Netminder Kyle Baumgardner made 21 saves for the shutout during the Edge’s 8-0 win over Shady Side Academy from Pittsburgh, Pa., Coda Gordon scored twice, while Amantea, MacKenze Stewart, Hunter Stewart, Ryan O’Rourke, Derek Throughgood and Scott Salberg added singles.
D’Amico made 25 saves with Austin Donaldson and Aspen Sterzer both scoring to lead the Mountaineers to the 2-1 win over Chicago’s Lake Forest Academy.
“They’re probably our No. 1 competition in that league and they’re a really good team,” Deis said. “So we knew that one was going to be a tight game and knew if we won it, that we’d have a good chance at being first in the league. But we played well and got the win. The guys were buying into the team concept.”
Edge beat Loyala Academy, from suburban Chicago, 5-2, on Jan. 30. Brendan Hopkins, Gordon, Hamilton, Robinson and Donaldson each scored, while Baumgardner made 23 saves in net.
Playing four games in less than 48 hours can take its toll, Deis said, but with the Edge School’s premier training facilities the players’ fitness and conditioning levels are extremely high.
“With our facility, and what these guys do extra at the school, it is making them that much better and putting us over the top in that sense,” he said.
The visiting schools also had nothing but compliments about the Edge School, according to the coach.
“They were impressed with the facility, the rink structure and the Duckett Training Facility,” Deis said. “They have pretty good facilities too, but all of these schools are 60 to 100 years old, so this is a good modern version of the prep school and they really liked it.”
The Edge Mountaineers will now travel to Faribault, Minn., for a two-game series against Shattuck-St. Mary’s, Feb. 4-5.
“They’ve got a team this year that is above and beyond everyone we’ve played,” Deis said. “We played them here three times at the beginning of the year and lost all three and lost to them again in the Grand Forks (tournament) final. But we’ve got that mentality this week that we’re going to work hard and these games are going to be ours this time.”
