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Solon clinches White East hockey crown
(by Tony Lange - February 01, 2012)
Solon clinches White East hockey crown
By TONY LANGE
Solon's No. 3, Sam Littman, went a scoring rampage against Kenston Sunday in the Comets' 4-3 division-clinching hockey victory.
The junior forward scored all four of the Comets' goals, including three during a 3:06 stretch in the second period.
"We were just working hard and putting the pressure on them, and we just played as a team, and the goals came in that second period," Littman said. "All three of our games against Kenston this season have been close, and we knew we could get them this third time."
In the Comets' first game of the season, Kenston beat them, 4-3, in an overtime and shootout. And in their second meeting, the Bombers prevailed again, 8-7.
Those two losses, however, were Solon's only defeats in league match-ups, as the Comets improved to 9-2-1 with Sunday's triumph.
The win propelled Solon to a second consecutive White East division championship in the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League, which earns the Comets a bye in the first round of the Baron Cup II.
Meanwhile, Kenston and Kent Roosevelt are tied for second place in the White East standings and also have secured spots in the Baron Cup, which drops the opening puck Feb. 6.
The top three contenders from the White West include Amherst Steele, which clinched its division, Brecksville and North Olmsted.
The Comets are obviously very excited about their White East championship, Solon head coach Michael Licata said.
"That was one of our goals for the year -- to win the division," he said. "It was only one of our goals. We just talked in the locker room that we're now focused on the Baron Cup. That's our next goal that we want to achieve."
During the division clincher against Kenston, the Comets struck first during the first period at the 6:13 mark, when senior Eric Pohle assisted Littman's first goal through a haze of players in front of the Bombers' net.
"It was a scramble," Pohle said. "Jake Peirce threw it out to me, and I tapped it over to Littman, and he just pounded it home. It was a good team play all around."
During the second period, the Bombers tied the game at 1-1, when Ben Kinney took a wrist shot from just inside the Comets' blue line and buried it in the upper corner of the net.
Solon reclaimed the lead with Jason Morel's assist to Littman during a power play at the 7:13 mark of the second period.
"We worked on that play in practice all week, and we just stayed patient, and it opened up, and he just finished it," Morel said of Littman's score. "It was intense. I think we just stuck in there and played our game, and it ended up paying off."
At the 5:27 mark in the second period, Littman opened up on a one-on-one with the goalie and scored an unassisted break-away goal.
At the 4:07 mark, Littman scored again off an assist by Pierce.
The three quick goals by Solon in that second period, which gave the Comets a 4-1 lead, was a product of grinding and sticking to the game plan, Licata said.
"You keep sticking to what you went out to do, which was moving the puck, making sure we were using the perimeter and taking shots on goal, and ultimately it happens. It breaks down for you. The pucks go into the net," Licata said.
"Sam's been on a tear lately. He had a hat trick in the Orange game that put us in a lead there. He works to get open, and he's got a nice shot. I'll tell you, though, his success comes from all the other players doing their job."
Despite falling behind by three goals, the Bombers were able to close the deficit to one point with Alex Petre's and Nick Levine's goals, both assisted by Zack Kinney, early in the third period. The last nine minutes of the game remained scoreless, however.
During the game, the Bombers had 38 shots on goal, while the Comets had 33.
Solon has a very good goalie, Kyle Peterson, who doesn't make very many mistakes, Kenston head coach Tom Beard said.
"We needed to take advantage of all our opportunities to score, and we didn't do that," Beard said. "We did get some momentum in the third period, and that's why I'm still proud of our guys. We fought back after being down three goals. But we can't spot a team of Solon's caliber that kind of lead. We need to come out right out of the opening drop."
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