BLOOMFIELD HILLS — Once the Marysville High School hockey team found a rhythm, it rapidly ran away with victory Tuesday, Feb. 17.
The Vikings rolled Grosse Pointe North, 7-0, in an MHSAA Division 3 regional quarterfinal at Wallace Ice Arena.
Senior forward Luke Thick totaled two goals and two assists for Marysville (16-12-0), which advanced to the regional semifinal against Cranbrook Kingswood (17-7-0) on Friday, Feb. 20.
“It was just (about) sticking with the process,” Marysville coach Dennis Thick said in an email. “We knew the first (period) was going to be tight, as they were going to throw everything they had at us. We really started moving the puck well and working together.”
The rout started at the 6:58 mark of the opening period, when Luke Thick broke the scoreless tie with his first goal. But it was junior netminder Ryan Winn (27 saves), who helped the Vikings maintain a 1-0 edge at the first intermission.
“Winnie has been playing lights out,” Dennis Thick said of Winn. “He made the saves early on in the first and kept it a 1-0 game until the boys could get some production going. He’s moving well and seeing the puck very well. Great awareness.”
Midway through the second period, Marysville blew the game open with three goals in just under seven minutes. Junior forward Drew Kryscynski scored at 14:01, followed by sophomore defenseman Daniel Healy at 11:29.
Four minutes later, Luke Thick netted his second goal of the night to put the Vikings in front, 4-0.
“Luke is one of our main leaders,” said Dennis, who is also Luke’s dad. “He’s really good about seeing the ice and getting his teammates involved. When Luke is going it seems like the whole team gets going. Definitely liked his jump tonight.”
Marysville added three more goals in the third period, courtesy of Parker Sheffer (13:59), Theo Beauchamp (8:44) and Austin O’Boyle (4:58).
Puck drop for Friday’s regional semifinal is 5 p.m. at Wallace Ice Arena. It’ll be the first meeting of the season between Marysville and Cranbrook Kingswood.
“Definitely, we must value our defense zone coverage,” Dennis Thick said of the matchup. “Play fast, physical, and win the one-on-one battles. (It will take) all five guys on the ice getting back and supporting the (defensive) zone.
“Our discipline must be on its A game, as there will be no room for penalties. Giving a team like Cranbrook the man advantage, they will hurt you. It’s just a matter of time.”
L’Anse Creuse Unified 4, Port Huron Northern 3 (OT)
Port Huron Northern’s season ended Tuesday with an overtime loss to L’Anse Creuse Unified in a Division 2 regional quarterfinal. Tyson Skotcher, Draven Rogers and Evan Fagan all scored for the Huskies, who finished 6-19-1.
Logan Jarvey had four goals for Unified, the first of which came 55 seconds into the game.
However, Northern answered with two in the final five minutes of the opening period. Skotcher’s came at 4:19, while Rogers netted the go-ahead goal exactly three minutes later.
After Jarvey evened the score late in the second period, Northern regained the advantage, 3-2, just 34 seconds into the third on a shot from Fagan.
But Jarvey buried the equalizer with 3:35 remaining in regulation. Then, he scored the game-winning goal at the 8:00 mark of overtime.
Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @BrendenWelper.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Marysville hockey blanks Grosse Pointe North in regional quarterfinal
Reporting by Brenden Welper, Port Huron Times Herald / Port Huron Times Herald
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