Landon v. Gonzaga

A Winning night for Children’s Hospital and the Landon Bears!

What an incredible night for Landon’s fans, supporters and especially its hockey players! The earliest success of the night was the shaving of the treasured “lettuce” the hockey players and other students had so long grown. With several swipes of the shavers the Bear students, and some teachers, had their head shorn in support of Children’s National medical Center. All told, at the end of the evening over $41,000 was raised! The top earners were Graham Shue who raised over $6000, Teddy Wellington, Sam, Anas, Max Greenwald and Matt Potolicchio!

Coming off a disappointing tie to Spalding, it was worrisome for this fan as to whether the Bears would be able to regain their composure and bounce back, especially given the Be Brave and Shave Event. Yet, when the Bears took the ice, the focus could be seen in their eyes and it was sure to be a solid Landon performance. Fans seemed to go crazy when they saw the special baby blue jerseys with the Be Brave logo plastered across the front. A truly special night was in store for the packed Bear’s Den.

The game started with the Eagles of Gonzaga and the Bears trading rushes and trying to gauge each other’s speed and weaknesses. It looked like Gonzaga was trying to match its top line which has accounted for 75% of all their goal production against Landon’s highly touted Sam Anas. That left the first opening for the Eagles and Graham Shue exploited an opening at the 10:08 mark in the first period. Joel Rosenzweig worked the puck down low behind the Eagle net and sent it along the back boards to Johnny Cobb. Johnny then darted a pass to the quick shooting Shue who buried the puck in the upper corner of Gonzaga keeper Platais’ glove. Landon’s cheering section erupted and the game was on! Despite each team getting to go on the power play, neither could convert and neither team could wrestle control of the game. Gonzaga stayed strong and kept pushing and the two teams traded shots and checks until the Eagles saw a break. With 5:55 to go in the first period, the Landon team became pinned in their defensive zone. No attempt to ice the puck to get a change was successful and with tired legs, the Eagles were able to exploit Landon’s weak legs and slipped a puck behind Bear’s netminder Alex Joyce (21 saves). The final five minutes of the first were hard fought, especially because Landon had to kill off a carryover penalty at the end of the first going into the second. Would this give the Eagles a chance to take control?

End of 1st period: Landon 1 Gonzaga 1

The start of the second found Landon a man down and Gonzaga put out there stud line to try and take advantage. However, the Bears stayed strong, Joyce turned away shots and the bears were typically aggressive on their penalty kill. With the release of its player, Landon jumped back on the attack and forced the Eagles into the penalty box. The ensuing power play was a thing of beauty. With their hallmark tape to tape passes, Landon had the Eagles spinning their heads trying to find the puck. It was eventually found in the back of the net at 11:33 to go because of Shue’s shot on a nice pass from Teddy Wellington and Max Greenwald. A beauty go ahead goal which would eventually become the game winner! The momentum had swung and Landon continued to press. With 8:38 to go in the second frame, Connor Meike began a beautiful rush and found an unchecked Anas at the top of the offensive zone. Anas made his trademark dangle move and buried the puck and gave Landon a two goal lead. The Eagles started to get more physical and tried to slow down the speed of Landon with hits. But the bears kept pressing using their passing and speed to wear down the legs of the Eagles. Mid-way through the second, with the Eagles on a Power play, a time out was called to rest the legs and gather their heads while trying to stem the momentum that had swung in Landon’s favor. Landon killed the penalty and then when back to full strength, Anas beat Platais once again in the upper corner on a great hesitation pass from Opsahl who was fed a backboard pass by David Lackner. It was a thing of beauty with 39 seconds to go in the period. The ruckus Landon crowd joined in the celebration and the Gonzaga crowd was stunned.

End of the 2nd period: Landon 4 Gonzaga 1

The third period was what has become hallmark Landon hockey: solid defense and goaltending while puck movement and speed puts the opponents on their heels. A frustrated Eagles team found themselves in the box and Landon power play once again went to work. This time it was the combo Matt Potolicchio who scored on a quick cross ice pass from Meike. A celebration in front of the Gonzaga crowd was not well received, but it was about the only thing the Eagle fans had to cheer for the rest of the evening. Though given a power play because of the celebration, the Bears penalty killers stayed true to form and kept the Eagles to perimeter. When back to five on five, the depth of Landon kept the attack on and forced the Eagles to play back in their defensive zone for most of the game. Landon’s stellar defenders, Meike, Mike Anderson, Pearce Minshall, Christian Meike and Max Greenwald patrolled the blueline and kept the Eagles away from Joyce. Hard forechecking by Isaac Porter and his linemates kept the puck deep in the eagles end. With 3:19 to go in the game, David Lackner found himself behind the Eagles net and he made a quick move to the front of the net and flipped a backhand into the net and raised his arms in the air. Landon was beginning to show these Eagles whose house this was. The Landon fans kept up their cheers and the chant of Be Brave and Shave was new one that got a welcome reception from all. This support helped Landon when they needed to kill of a late penalty. Though Gonzaga tried to mount a very late comeback, the stronger legs of the bears enabled Potolicchio to bury a shorthanded goal after getting a pass from Wellington to be the final dagger for the visiting team.

The bears have returned to form!

Final score: Landon 7 Gonzaga 1

The Bears will take on Wooten High School at the Bear’s Den on Monday at 5:20PM.