Tyler Stevens raised up Wayzata by staying down on the ice.
The sophomore forward fell in front of the Holy Family Catholic goal midway through the third period and found the puck on his stick before he could get to his feet. From his knees, Stevens sent a shot over the glove of Fire goalie Gabe Heifort to score the insurance goal and seal the Trojans’ 4-2 victory in the Sports Authority Holiday Hockey Classic at the St. Louis Park Rec Center on Monday night.
“As far as I can remember,” Stevens said with a laugh. “That’s the first one I’ve ever scored from my knees.”
It could be one of several firsts at the varsity level for Stevens, who has three goals after skating with the junior varsity squad just weeks ago.
“He got a chance to play a regular shift today and scored a huge goal for us,” Wayzata coach Pat O’Leary said. “I’m proud of the way he played today.”
Stevens’ older brother Alex, a senior defenseman for the Trojans, got an assist on Tyler’s goal.
Hard work – and a little motivation from his older brother – landed Tyler a spot on the varsity team in December, and the sophomore hasn’t looked back since.
“It meant a lot to me (to play with the varsity),” Tyler said. “Now I’ve gotten moved up, and I’m playing well.”
Wayzata (7-2-2), ranked No. 5 in the Class 2A coaches poll, played well early against Holy Family Catholic. The Trojans dominated much of the first half of the game, but were derailed halfway through the second period by a four penalties that allowed the No. 14-2A Fire (5-4-2) to come back.
Seniors John Peterson and Will Garin each scored a power-play goal, helping Holy Family Catholic even the game at 2-2. Peterson and Garin's strong play with a man advantage gave the Wayzata penalty kill plenty with which to deal.
“Their top five guys are really good,” O’Leary said. “So they have a great power play.”
Wayzata, however, was solid on the penalty kill most of the night, staving off 15 minutes worth of penalties.
“Our penalty kill is always good,” O’Leary said. “I mean, you don’t want it to be that good because you don’t want to have to use it that much.”
Being a man down meant Trojans junior captain Max Zimmer, who is not on Wayzata's penalty kill, was stuck on the bench for much of the game. However, freshman Griffin Ness filled in nicely, scoring a goal and adding an assist.
Ness, who normally as a ninth-grader would likely be playing Bantams, said he was a little intimidated during his first few varsity games. He’s since adapted and has enjoyed his time playing against upper-level competition.
“Yeah, it’s a little more fun,” Ness said with a smile.
Ness’ goal came early in the first period as he caught a pass from Nathan Dingmann and then backhanded the puck into the goal where it landed in the top of the inside twine.
It was Ness’ third goal of the season.
“I got it in front and just spun around and shot it,” Ness said. “I knew the goalie would be down, so I just lifted it.”
O’Leary wasn’t thrilled with the way his team played against the Fire as the Trojans were assessed six penalties – including a 5 minute major – and “raising (his) blood pressure up pretty high.”
Staying out of the box will be a focus of the game plan when the Trojans play Moorhead on Tuesday in the second day of the holiday showcase.
“We found a way to win and scored some goals,” O’Leary said. “But we can play better than that.”
