MONROE - Sophomore wing Tyler Johnson donning a new No. 20 jersey scored five goals and had one assist to power the Monroe Avalanche to a 9-3 win over the Madison La Follette/Eastside Lakers Monday at SLICE.
"I lost my other jersey (No. 10)," Johnson said. "I'm keeping No. 20."
Johnson has scored seven goals and has three assists in two games since sporting the new jersey. The win for the Avalanche marks the first win this season. With the win, the Monroe boys hockey co-op improves to 1-12, 0-4 Badger South. Johnson credited the turnaround and stronger play to a mad-skate practice the Avalanche had Jan. 13.
"Everything just fell off our shoulders," he said of snapping the 12-game losing streak. "We are a brand new team. We thought we could beat them with our legs. If we can stay on the ice and not have bad penalties, we have some fast and skilled skaters."
Avalanche sophomore Cade Martin of Belleville scored the first goal with 15 minutes, 14 seconds left in the first period. Monroe junior Simon Bonjour and Martin each added two assists. The Avalanche scored three first-period goals to build a 3-1 lead. Johnson scored his first goal on assists from junior Jeff Guilliams and junior Jared Kleckner at 3:57. Johnson gave the Avalanche some breathing room scoring a goal on a pass from Bonjour with 50 seconds to go in the first period.
"We wanted to come out and play hard in the first period," Johnson said. "We wanted to be the first one to the puck."
Monroe coach Josh Smith said taking a two-goal cushion into the lockeroom after the first period was a huge morale boost.
"To see the 180-degree turn on their faces in the locker room was really nice to see," Smith said. "Halfway through the season we decided to have a reset on the season, and that is as good of a reset for me. I'm thrilled. They played fantastic."
Johnson scored his third goal at 15:29 in the second period on assists by sophomore Isaac Halverson and Bonjour. About 3 minutes later, Johnson scored a power-play goal on a pass from Martin to give the Avalanche a commanding 5-1 lead. The Lakers got a short-handed goal from freshman Sam Hull to cut the Avalanche's lead to 5-2. The Avalanche had two penalties late in the second period. Sophomore Turner Entenmann scored a power-play goal to slice the Avalanche's lead to 5-3. However, the Avalanche weathered the storm and were able to kill off the power-play.
"We have been making a point of committing to the play earlier so we can take away the shooting lanes," Smith said. "Our back-checks were faster tonight than they have been all season."
Smith also made an adjustment with the wing players for the Avalanche.
"The main focus is I wanted them to play the pass on the boards and not worry about getting back to their defensive responsibilities," he said. "Before, they were trying to do too much with where they are at skill-set wise."
The Avalanche sealed the win by scoring four goals in the third period. Senior Brett Jones of Darlington scored a goal at the 9:32 mark of the third period to give the Avalanche a 6-3 lead. Guilliams scored a goal on a rebound 22 seconds later on assists by Johnson and Martin. Johnson scored his final goal at 7:31. The Avalanche outshot the Lakers 40-35.
Monroe goaltender Dan Guilliams had 32 saves.
"He saw about two to three times less shots than he has been seeing," Smith said.
Avalanche junior Evan Byrnes of Freeport scored his first goal of the season late in the period on assists by Jones and sophomore Dennis Neary to ice the win. It marked Neary's first assist of the season.
"I was very happy to see that," Smith said. "It's nice to see some validation for the work they put in."
"I lost my other jersey (No. 10)," Johnson said. "I'm keeping No. 20."
Johnson has scored seven goals and has three assists in two games since sporting the new jersey. The win for the Avalanche marks the first win this season. With the win, the Monroe boys hockey co-op improves to 1-12, 0-4 Badger South. Johnson credited the turnaround and stronger play to a mad-skate practice the Avalanche had Jan. 13.
"Everything just fell off our shoulders," he said of snapping the 12-game losing streak. "We are a brand new team. We thought we could beat them with our legs. If we can stay on the ice and not have bad penalties, we have some fast and skilled skaters."
Avalanche sophomore Cade Martin of Belleville scored the first goal with 15 minutes, 14 seconds left in the first period. Monroe junior Simon Bonjour and Martin each added two assists. The Avalanche scored three first-period goals to build a 3-1 lead. Johnson scored his first goal on assists from junior Jeff Guilliams and junior Jared Kleckner at 3:57. Johnson gave the Avalanche some breathing room scoring a goal on a pass from Bonjour with 50 seconds to go in the first period.
"We wanted to come out and play hard in the first period," Johnson said. "We wanted to be the first one to the puck."
Monroe coach Josh Smith said taking a two-goal cushion into the lockeroom after the first period was a huge morale boost.
"To see the 180-degree turn on their faces in the locker room was really nice to see," Smith said. "Halfway through the season we decided to have a reset on the season, and that is as good of a reset for me. I'm thrilled. They played fantastic."
Johnson scored his third goal at 15:29 in the second period on assists by sophomore Isaac Halverson and Bonjour. About 3 minutes later, Johnson scored a power-play goal on a pass from Martin to give the Avalanche a commanding 5-1 lead. The Lakers got a short-handed goal from freshman Sam Hull to cut the Avalanche's lead to 5-2. The Avalanche had two penalties late in the second period. Sophomore Turner Entenmann scored a power-play goal to slice the Avalanche's lead to 5-3. However, the Avalanche weathered the storm and were able to kill off the power-play.
"We have been making a point of committing to the play earlier so we can take away the shooting lanes," Smith said. "Our back-checks were faster tonight than they have been all season."
Smith also made an adjustment with the wing players for the Avalanche.
"The main focus is I wanted them to play the pass on the boards and not worry about getting back to their defensive responsibilities," he said. "Before, they were trying to do too much with where they are at skill-set wise."
The Avalanche sealed the win by scoring four goals in the third period. Senior Brett Jones of Darlington scored a goal at the 9:32 mark of the third period to give the Avalanche a 6-3 lead. Guilliams scored a goal on a rebound 22 seconds later on assists by Johnson and Martin. Johnson scored his final goal at 7:31. The Avalanche outshot the Lakers 40-35.
Monroe goaltender Dan Guilliams had 32 saves.
"He saw about two to three times less shots than he has been seeing," Smith said.
Avalanche junior Evan Byrnes of Freeport scored his first goal of the season late in the period on assists by Jones and sophomore Dennis Neary to ice the win. It marked Neary's first assist of the season.
"I was very happy to see that," Smith said. "It's nice to see some validation for the work they put in."
