Spinal Column

Lakeland shut out Huron Valley rival Milford, 8-0, on Saturday night after making the short trip down M59.

The Eagle’s defense was solid as senior goalie Adam Szymanski stopped 11 shots on the way to the shutout victory.The first 14 minutes was a tight checking game highlighted by a number of big hits by both squads. Junior defenseman Brendan Lewis scored with 3:32 remaining in the first period to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

Milford was whistled for a five-minute-major penalty with just 32 seconds left in the first period.The Eagles broke the game open as they scored three goals in the first two minutes of the second period. Junior forward Blake Kocsis lit the lamp with 15:05 left on a wrist shot followed by a goal by Matthew Kovach to give the Eagles a commanding 30 lead. Kocsis gave the Eagles a 40 margin 45 seconds later on a back hander.

Milford (1-5 in KLAA, 1-9) fought hard in the rivalry game as things got chippy in the second period. Junior forward Nick Langley scored at the buzzer to give the Eagles a 5-0 margin at the end of the second period.The Eagles fought off a number of penalties in the third period as both teams combined to spend 38 minutes in the penalty box.The Mavericks were whistled for seven penalties while the Eagles had eight. Kovach’s goal with 2:55 left in the third gave the Eagles an 8-0 win.The game was halted after a big scrum in front of the Milford goal due to the mercy rule.

Head Coach Tim Ronayne was happy to get a win before the holiday break after a rough start in December. “We needed the win regardless of the score as we have been fighting it so far this season. We won a couple of games but we’ve been in a little rut lately,” he said. “We need to learn how to put a full game together. Milford played hard tonight.They have a good head coach and he will get things rolling.”

The Eagles upped their record to 2-2 in the KLAA and 3-7 overall heading into the holiday break.

Original Article: http://www.spinalcolumnonline.com/news/2014-12-24/Lakeland_High_School