Edwardsville defeats Alton in MVCHA matchup
EAST ALTON – Edwardsville's top varsity hockey team has moved into a new league for the 2016-17 season.
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The team that replaced the Tigers in the Mississippi Valley Club Hockey Association's varsity competition for the new season may well be just as good.
Edwardsville got off to a quick start Wednesday night as the Tigers opened their MVCHA varsity schedule with an 8-1 win over Alton at East Alton Ice Arena. Prior to the game, a ceremony honoring Zack Hunter, a member of the Redbirds who attended Marquette Catholic (Alton and Marquette have a combined hockey team in the MVCHA competition) who died after an accident in April, took place. The Redbirds will wear memorial patches and stickers on their uniforms this season in his memory.
“They looked good,” said Tiger coach Jason Walker of his team. “We had a preseason tournament earlier this month and saw some things we didn't like and got back to work in practice and these guys played great. We got to the net and had 70 shots on goal, had a lot of screens and we looked good.
“It's different for us this year with our second team being in this league (Edwardsville's varsity moved into the Mid-States Club Hockey Association's competition on the Missouri side of the Mississippi for this season) and we're off to a good start. These guys have a lot of pride and they were ready for their opportunity; they got it tonight.”
“I think we were a little timid at first, but once we got going, the kids realized we're going to get hit,” said Redbird coach Steven Campbell. “Edwardsville's the top team in the league; it's tough to play your No. 1 opponent in your first game. They've got a great program.
“It's nice to get the loss behind us and hopefully, we can build on it; hopefully, we can come out against Granite City (tonight) and get a win.”
Kyle Meehan got the Tigers on the board just 3:22 into the game, with the assist going to Matthew Kocarnik; Jacob Foley, from Meehan and Connor Hinterser, and Logan Corzine also had goals for the Tigers in the first period. Both of the Tigers' second-period goals came from Collin Salter (one on the power play), and third-period goals for EHS were scored from Kellin Roettgers, Chase Lawrence and Salter. Alton's goal came in the third period from Jack Sumner.
The Redbirds play Granite City 8:45 p.m. tonight at East Alton Ice Arena, while the Tigers' next MVCHA game takes place at 8:45 p.m. Tuesday against Bethalto and 7:15 p.m. Nov. 10 against East Alton-Wood River; both games will be at East Alton.
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