Brophy 6
Desert Vista 1
By Erik T. Masingill ’12
THE ROUNDUP
The Broncos outshot the Thunder and scored in all three periods Saturday, March 10 as the Brophy hockey team won 6-1, obtaining a trip to the state finals Sunday, March 11 at the Alltel Ice Den.
“What worked well was that we had our feet moving,” said head coach Mr. Eric Murrietta. “We were first to the puck every single time, we locked them down defensively, didn’t give up any scoring opportunities except for a few, and that’s really what worked.”
The Broncos had six shots on goal before scoring first on a goal from Spencer Smith ’13 with an assist from Tanner Tuohy ’13 with 8:05 in the first period.
Smith capitalized again 37 seconds later as he scored on an unassisted goal for the Broncos.
Brophy led 2-0 after the first period allowing three shots on goal from Desert Vista.
Smith scored his third goal, completing the hat trick with 3:52 left in the second period for a 3-0 lead.
The Thunder shot their first goal with 1:22 left in the period to end the second with a two-goal deficit.
However, Brophy outshot Desert Vista in the third period 12-8 and scored three goals while shutting out the Thunder.
Tuohy scored two goals on passes from Alex Smith ’13 and Carter Hale ’13, and Taylor Moorman ’14 scored the last goal for the Broncos, sealing a 6-1 victory.
Goalie Nick Rubey ’12 had 14 saves of 15 shot attempts from the Thunder. Desert Vista goalie Troy Anderson saved 38 of 44 shot attempts from the Broncos.
The Thunder had six penalties while the Broncos had two in the game. The Broncos increased their overall record to 15-5-2 and finished with a 5-2 record against the Thunder this year.
The other semifinal matchup featured a Pinnacle 8-1 victory over Mountain Ridge, which means Brophy will play Pinnacle in the finals.
Mr. Murrietta said the team still needs to work on their power play opportunities for the championship game.
“I think our power play in the second period, we didn’t score goals,” he said. “We had a couple of 5-on-3s and a couple regular power plays, and we didn’t score on those power plays so that’s a little bit disappointing. Tomorrow in a championship game, you’re going to have to score on a power play to really be successful. We got to be able to do better there.”
Although Mr. Murrietta said there is some work to be done, he also said the team is capable of winning their first state title in school history.
“They understand that if they work, and if they battle and they sacrifice for each other, they’ll be successful, and that’s what they’re doing.”
More photos from the game:
