The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Mentor boosted by key changes
Cards have frozen four aspirations with improved special teams, backcheck
Coming into its Kent District semifinal Feb. 29 against Shaker Heights, Mentor knew something had to change.
The Cardinals’ only two losses of the winter came to the Red Raiders on Dec. 15 in the Thornton Park tournament final and Feb. 1 in a nonleague game, also at Thornton.
Mentor had only beaten Shaker six times in fact, in 35 tries since the 2000-01 season coming into Kent.
Facing one of its biggest games in program history, the Cardinals rode two key factors to victory, one step away from their first frozen four appearance in hockey in school history.
Special teams and improved defensive-zone positioning went a long way for Mentor as it blew open a 6-1 victory, its biggest margin over Shaker since another 6-1 win Dec. 16, 2007.
When the Cardinals faced the Red Raiders at Thornton Park on Feb. 1, defensive-zone positioning was a concern, as Mentor was susceptible to oddman rushes on the edges of its D-zone.
Cardinals coach Paul McKito and his squad knew it and did something about it in Round 4 between the two teams this winter.
“We focused on that the past two weeks, looking ahead to this game thinking this was going to be the matchup we were going to see,” McKito said. “Our film sessions have been focused on the goalsagainst against Shaker, defensive-zone coverage. We did a really nice job today of collapsing and helping, getting sticks in lanes, a couple blocks here and there in a timely fashion.”
Another timely aspect for Mentor all winter has been exemplary work on special teams.
The Cardinals’ power play has been firing at a sterling 29.9% clip (23for-77), and the penalty kill has checked in at 86.6% (58-for-67).
“The power play was really good today, with the exception of that first one,” McKito said. “It was just a little jittery.
“But overall, the other couple power plays we had, we had easy breakouts, we were able to gain the zone and get set up and create some chances. We moved the puck and let the puck do the work for us on the power plays, and it looked really crisp tonight. I liked where it was.”
Mentor logged a key penalty kill in the opening period, and 87 seconds later Andrew McBride gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead going into intermission.
Shaker got a powerplay goal toward the end of the second period to pull within 2-1 after two, but Mentor responded on its own man advantage, getting a tally from Eric Toth at 6:14 to make it a 4-1 game.
“Huge — again, going back to momentum,” Mentor standout senior center Kyle Backston said. “A power-play goal can change the momentum. They got their goal, and then you could tell they had the upper hand. You could tell they were pushing. We had to make sure we fought back. Our power play and our penalty kill, we know what’s on the line and we just get it done.
“It goes back to communication. In practice, we make sure we’re talking out there. If something goes wrong in practice, we all talk about it and understand what went wrong, so that way it doesn’t happen in a game. I think it all goes back to communication.”
With Gilmour on the docket March 6 in the Kent District final, special teams and backcheck effectiveness will be keys once again against a physical and dangerous Lancers’ squad.
McKito also knows he can rely on senior goaltender Alex Toth in the big moments. Toth had 20 saves against Shaker and is 20-2-1 with 483 saves and a 1.60 goals-against average this winter.
And in order for something to change as far as the Cardinals’ frozen-four aspirations, eyeing an elusive breakthrough, it all needs to come together.
“Alex was big in the second (against Shaker),” McKito said. “He made a couple of really, really big saves in the middle of that period when we were a little back on our heels, which is what he does.
“He keeps us in games when we get a little sideways or we start to play on tilt a little bit. We bend, but we don’t break, and he’s the anchor back there.”