Oxford gains some major revenge in icing Farmington
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
ROCHESTER — A team’s growth or demise can often be measured based on how a team fares against an opponent a second time throughout a course of the season.
Oxford is showcasing that it is not the same hockey team that ventured through a rough patch of ice during January.
After losing to both Farmington (8-1) and Clarkston (10-2) in January, the Wildcats gained a measure of revenge on one of those opponents Friday night to set up a date with another.
Oxford skated past Farmington, 5-1, in and Oakland Activities Association Red Division tournament quarterfinal Friday night at The Onyx and advances to the tournament semifinals at 5:45 p.m. Saturday night against Clarkston at the Farmington Hills Ice Arena.
Clarkston (10-9-3) is the top seed in the eight-school tournament.
“It’s not like the games were as bad as the scores indicated,” offered Oxford coach Dave Hague of the losses to both Farmington and Clarkston. “In both of those games, the games were close early in the second period.”
Farmington defeated Oxford, 8-1, in the two team’s first meeting. That was followed up with a 10-2 loss to Clarkston.
It looked like the game could have a similar results as fourth-seeded Farmington (7-13-1) scored first of the stick of Nick Heffron just four minutes into the contest. The Falcons would not convert again, as the Wildcats clamped down in the defensive zone for the final 37 minutes.
Meanwhile, Oxford (q4-6-2) scored twice in the first period, twice in the second period and tacked on another insurance tally in the third period to move into the semifinals in the fifth-seeded Wildcats’ first year in the league.
Oxford competed in the OAA White Division last season and was awarded the promotion into the league’s upper echelon this season.
Jimmy Wallington, Steven Fowler, Stephan Fritz, Connor Novack and Nolan Chapman scored the goals for Oxford, signaling great balance and production from several Wildcats.
“I think that was key. Not only did we have five different goal-scorers, but we got production from all of our lines,” said Hague. “That shows that we are getting better. We have a lot of different players contributing.”
The Wildcats will need a better effort against Clarkston, a Division 1 state quarterfinalist last season and the most successful member of the OAA over the past dozen seasons.
“They are a very well-coached team and they are always a god team,” offered Hague. “We understand that they will be a tough team to beat. But the last time we played them, we outshot them 17-16 after two periods and trailed, I believe, only 4-2. The game just got away from us in the third period. We need to put together three good periods of hockey, keep our compete level really high all the way through and not let up.”
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