Ice hockey team falls to Bears 7-0, season ends

After cruising their way to a 5-1 win over fourth place Urbana on Monday, the Middletown High School ice hockey team’s first visit to the Monocacy Valley League championship was spoiled by a talented, deep Oakdale squad that scored seven goals on 30 shots. Oakdale winger Ryley Harper struck first, scoring an unassisted goal a mere two minutes into the contest. The rest of the first period was dominated by Oakdale’s Logan Coomes, earning himself a hat trick in the first period alone. The Indiana native was assisted by Harper on all three goals, all of them occurring within the last two minutes of first period play. In a first period mired by poor communication and a lack of offense (the Knights only managed two shots), a defensive breakdown stole the Knights’ early second period momentum as winger Ian Soifer scored off a pass from Coomes at the 12:10 mark. A late Oakdale power play goal added insult to injury as winger, and Oakdale coach’s son, Zach Pard scored off a smooth pass by Soifer. At the end of the second period, the Knights only had five shots on goal, less than Oakdale’s goals scored (6). After a brief intermission and ice resurfacing, the Knights won a faceoff to start, what would be, their strongest period of the game. Utilizing their speed with a dump-and-chase strategy, the Knights spent long shifts in Oakdale’s zone, challenging Bears goalie Sam Downs with an increase in shots. The Knights could not manage a single goal, however. At the 3:50 mark, it was all but over when Pard scored once again. When the horn sounded, the Bears muscled their way to a 7-0 win, effectively ending the Knights’ season at 7-4-1. After team handshakes took place at center ice, the Bears paraded the ice with the MVHL trophy, marking a pivotal moment in Oakdale ice hockey history.