Bears Hockey Continues with Perfect Streak

Despite having a perfect record so far this season, hockey coach Mike Quint said he still wants his team to play better. 

"We start slow in a game and play well in the middle," he said. "We need to finish our games on a strong note."

His players had a chance to do just that in Thursday night's game against Grosse Ile at the Kennedy Recreation Center in Trenton.

Roosevelt jumped out to a 5-0 second period lead, only to have the Grosse Ile Devils use a strong third period to get back into the game. Things weren't secure until Junior Tyler Groat scored a critical third period goal to help lift the Bears to an 8-5 victory.

The game began with Roosevelt not getting a single shot until almost seven minutes into the game. They followed with consecutive shots and took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Gerald Mayhew.

Groat scored just under a minute after Mayhew's goal. After the second goal, Grosse Ile decided a change in goal was needed in an effort to slow down Roosevelt's offensive onslaught. 

The change worked for three minutes until Jake Carlisle scored his first of two goals and Roosevelt staked itself to a 3-0 first period lead. The Bears were outshot 8-6 in the first period.

The second period proved to be no different as Roosevelt continued to take control of the game by playing an upbeat tempo of hockey. The Bears were constantly getting to loose pucks before the Devils, outhustling them on numerous occasions.

With just under three minutes gone in the second period, Carlisle scored his second goal of the game.  Shortly after that, Nick Kovalchik scored a power play goal, sending the Bears into the dressing room with a 5-0 lead. Roosevelt led in shots after two periods of play, 22-13.

Grosse Ile scored their first goal of the night early in the third, only for it to be countered by a goal by Mayhew. 

The Devils scored two more goals to make the score 6-3 with just under 11 minutes left to go in the game. Quint used a timeout in an effort to slow the momentum that Grosse Ile was quickly gaining. The Devils scored two minutes later, leading some to wonder if they were witnessing an epic collapse by the Bears. The Devils were  using their sudden surge as motivation to get back into the game, in front of a sizeable crowd on their home ice.

Groat brought the Bears back by beating a defenseman to a loose puck, scoring the goal that later would be credited as the one that helped the Bears regain control.

John Calhoun scored shortly after that and Roosevelt never looked back. Grosse Ile added a late goal, but it wasn't enough to change the outcome.

"We never gave up tonight," said Mayhew, who had five points on the night: two goals and three assists. "Tonight was a total team effort."

Groat said he was happy to have been the one making the all-important seventh goal of the night. 

"I saw the loose puck and just tried to outhustle the defender," he said. "When I did, I got the puck, shot it, and it was fortunate to go in."

Roosevelt will take its  7-0 record on the road to the Big Rapids Tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday. After that, the team will return to local action at an away game against Allen Park on Jan 5.