Sports
Wyandotte Hockey Knocked off in Home Opener
Grosse Pointe North dropped Wyandotte Roosevelt 4-3 Wednesday night as the Bears played their first home game of the season. Tyler Groat scored two goals for Roosevelt and Kyle King scored one.
On Wednesday night, the hockey team played in front of its home fans for the first time since winning the last season.
Unfortunately for the Wyandotte faithful, the Grosse Pointe North Norsemen skated to a 4-3 win against the Bears in a penalty-filled game.
The contest was a league game for Roosevelt, as both teams are members of the , a conference Wyandotte joined in March.
Find out what's happening in Wyandottefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
As things got started Wednesday night, the Bears quickly found themselves down 2-0 after first-period Norsemen goals from Brad Werenski and R.C. Nelson.
Roosevelt struck late in the first period, cutting the deficit to 2-1 when senior Tyler Groat netted a power play goal, assisted by senior Jake Carlisle and sophomore Josh Hinderliter.
Find out what's happening in Wyandottefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Another power play goal for Wyandotte, about halfway through the second period, allowed the Bears to tie the game as senior Kyle King scored unassisted.
The tie was broken by the Norsemen about four minutes later, however, as John Paul Lucchese scored a power play goal unassisted.
Roosevelt was awarded a penalty shot opportunity late in the second period and took full advantage, tying the game at 3-3. Groat took the shot for Wyandotte and easily buried it in the net for his second goal of the night.
With the Bears shorthanded midway through the third period due to a boarding penalty, the Norsemen were able to regain the lead on Lucchese’s second goal of the night.
Overall, the Norsemen committed seven penalties Wednesday night and the Bears were called for six. Groat said his team would need to concentrate more in order to be successful this year.
“I think we can improve our game,” Groat said. “We have to cut down the penalties.”
Still down 4-3 with less than two minutes left, Wyandotte head coach Mike Quint opted to pull junior goaltender Dalan Bulchak for a sixth attacker. The extra man was to no avail as the Norsemen defended their zone and hung on for the win.
Following the game, Quint said his team played tough, despite coming up on the losing end. He also said the contest was indicative of the challenging MIHL games the Bears will continue to play this year.
“We were right in that game until the end,” Quint said. “When we got into this league, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”
A Look Back and a Look Ahead
Wyandotte knocked off U-D Jesuit 8-0 on Saturday to start the regular season. Roosevelt's next game is Wednesday at home against Detroit Catholic Central.
