Boys Hockey Loses First Game in 2010

Summit High School boys hockey head coach Keith Nixon hoped that with an 11 day break his team would be well rested and ready to start the new year off with a win. Instead, penalties and turnovers limited the Hilltoppers (4-2-1) scoring opportunities as they lost 3-2 to the undefeated Middletown South Eagles (5-0-1) of the Shore A North Conference at the Wall Ice Arena on Sunday night.

Senior forward and tri-captain Bobby Lawrence scored both of Summit's goals. Classmate and fellow tri-captain, defenseman Jack Mulcahy assisted Lawrence on his first goal. Forwards Eric Stabler (sophomore) and Jon Santina (senior) got the assists the second time around. Junior goalie Jackson Stuckey got the start and made 20 saves.

Despite their efforts, Nixon was not pleased with the team's overall performance.

"We didn't play with much energy," he said. "We just can't afford to be flat at any point. I don't know why we didn't have the energy, but it was a bit of a wake up call for our guys."

Middletown South out-shot the Hilltoppers 23-14, and got goals from forward Matt Johnson and defenseman Dylan Ralph. Even though neither team displayed an overpowering offense, Nixon credited the Eagles for their efficiency.

"I expected them to be a lot better than they were," he said. "They didn't generate a lot of offense, but they made the most of their opportunities."

As for Summit, getting only 14 shots on net was the result of taking too many penalties and failing to communicate properly on offense.

"We had 10 minutes where we were killing penalties rather than crashing the net," Nixon said. "We turned the puck over on the blue line and didn't hit open players. There were also a few glaring situations where communication was clearly something that needed work."

Before the season began Nixon said he thought that as long as his team played consistently they would competitive in every game. He still believes that to be true, but unfortunately for the Hilltoppers, this loss exposed their weaknesses rather than highlighting their strengths.

"We've got to find that level of consistency," he said. "If we can do that, we'll win a lot of games."

Summit's next game is on Tuesday at 6 p.m. against rival Westfield back at Warinanco Park. The last time they met was in the Cron Tournament consolation game, which ended in a scoreless tie

Even though on paper that game lacked offense and by the end of the night both teams were exhausted, Nixon hopes his team will play with the same intensity in this week's contest.

"We are very evenly matched with Westfield," he said. "The offensive part of our game is our Achilles heel. We are at our best when we create turnovers."