Country Day Hockey Beats Royal Oak 4-2

UPDATE - Royal Oak coach Rejean Trembley gave Patch an update on Sean Panetta's condition and it's all positive. The senior has no damage to his neck and could be back on the ice as soon as the team's practice on Monday afternoon. 

SOUTHFIELD – The Detroit Country Day hockey team won an intense game 4-2 over on Wednesday night with two goals in the final five minutes of the game at the Southfield Sports Arena. But the exciting finish was overshadowed by an injury to Ravens forward Sean Panetta.

On a breakaway, Country Day's Scott Wolf hit Panetta with an inadvertent high stick in the neck area. The Ravens' co-captain hit the ice and boards head first because he was tangled up with Wolf’s teammate Shane Switzer.

Panetta stayed face down on the ice for several minutes while trainers from the Country Day staff examined him. The trainers told Royal Oak coach Rejean Trembley that his co-captain had tenderness in his neck.

“I think the stick got lifted and the kid (Wolf) didn’t mean it,” Trembley said. “The stick went around the base of the neck and he hit the board. The trainers were very conscientious and I’d prefer they take every precaution, even if the kid wants to get up.” 

Panetta was moving both his arms and legs, but in high school hockey, if a player has any sort of neck pain they are immobilized and taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons. 

“It was an impact shot rather than a collision into the boards, thank goodness for that,” Detroit Country Day coach Frank Novock said. “You never want to see anyone get hurt no matter how hard the game is played.”

An ambulance was called and Panetta was carted off the ice by Emergency Medical Technicians to get X-rays. The game was delayed for 30 minutes at the 11:52 mark. 

When play resumed with the score tied 2-2, neither team lost any of their intensity. In early December, Detroit Country Day beat Royal Oak 7-2. On Wednesday, the Ravens looked like a team that wanted to even the season series between the schools. 

The key for the Yellowjackets was their ability to keep the puck in Royal Oak’s zone throughout the third period. Country Day (10-2) aggressively attacked the net and limited Royal Oak to only a couple of shots.

“The third period all year we’ve been outscoring teams,” Novock said. “Through our seventh game, I think we outscored teams 26-5 in the third. I attribute a lot of that to conditioning, but again today we outscored them 2-0 in the third.”

Country Day's Ferris Kadri broke through with the game-winner from Ryan Goleniak and Paul Johnson, putting the Yellowjackets up 3-2 (10:08). Kadri hit the shot even though he was fading away from the net. 

Jack Bergmann added an insurance goal on an empty net in the final minute (14:17) from Switzer. It was Bergmann’s second goal of the night. Switzer finished the game with two assists and a goal.

Despite the loss, Trembley was pleased with his team’s effort. Royal Oak's Evan Fall scored both of the Ravens’ goals and goalie Danny Harlick had a good night in net.

“They are growing, learning the system and limiting mental mistakes,” Trembley said. “I personally feel if we played like we did tonight, we’d have a better record.”

Fall’s second goal was particularly impressive. To tie the game 2-2 (11:15) he beat two defenders on a breakaway and then faked out Country Day’s goalie. He managed the puck through one defender's leg before quickly changing directions so he had an open shot.

“I think he beat our defenders four times, twice over,” Novock said, laughing. “Great play by him obviously, but for our guys, that’s unacceptable.”