MONROE - The Monroe boys co-op hockey team has faced "five bad minutes" all year long. For just five minutes during each game the Cheesemakers seemingly lose enough focus and make enough mistakes to go from a close game to a blowout.
"I would say it was probably about a minute-and-a-half this time," Monroe head coach Josh Smith said after his team's 4-1 loss to Monona Grove Monday. "It hurts, but it's progress. We're a young team and we're getting there.
"The frustrating part is this is a game, more than a few now, where the final score really doesn't show how close the game was. Either there was a lucky break or we made a mistake at the absolute worst possible time. And they (Monona Grove) were just able to capitalize on it."
The Cheesemakers (3-14-1, 1-7 Badger South) were less than a minute away from entering the third period down 2-1, but then disaster struck. After holding a lengthy possession near the Silver Eagle's net, the Cheesemakers had a series of poor passes - so, instead of getting a clean shot on goal they turned it over.
Monona Grove's Matthew Priebusch gathered the puck with his stick and flipped it to neutral ice to forward Tanner Smith, who went one-on-one and beat Monroe goalie Heath Bear on the breakaway.
"I think that line had been out there for a little too long and they got a little too tired. You make one little mistake ... and they caught us," coach Smith said.
Bear had 54 saves on 58 shots, good enough for a 93.1 percent save rate.
"Heath had a good game," coach Smith said. "I was always told as a goalie that you are responsible for the first one. And he was in there making the second, third, fourth saves. You can't ask him for more than that."
To make matters worse for Monroe, in the waning seconds of the second period the puck bounced around Bear and nearly went into the goal. A Cheesemaker tried covering it up in the crease and was called for a delay of game penalty - leading to a penalty shot.
"That's the first one I've ever seen in four years," coach Smith said. "Those are really hard to practice for (as a goalie). It's the mental game. It takes you doing it a few times to be solid."
Bear, a sophomore who had never faced a penalty shot, wanted redemption, as Tanner Smith was going to be the one to take the take the shot with 6 seconds remaining in the period.
Instead, Tanner Smith came up Bear's glove side, only to deke and pivot to stick side and blow the horn.
"I just hoped for the best since it was my first one ever," Bear said of the penalty shot. "I played it as I would any other moment."
Monona Grove (5-13-1, 3-6-1) scored the first goal of the game with 7:39 left in the first, as Michael Zande scored on a breakaway in which he made it back onsides by the tip of a skate.
Moments later on a power play, the Cheesemakers tied it up on New Glarus freshman Cooper Dreyfus' first career goal on a one-timer from the left side through traffic.
"I saw the puck coming and thought that I could maybe get a shot off. So, I shot the puck, saw it go off of someone's skate and through (the goalie's) five-hole," Dreyfus said. "It felt amazing."
Monona Grove's Dawson Dutcher was penalized for hooking at 3:28, and at 3:09 Dreyfus was able to take advantage.
"It was really nice to see Cooper get one, because he's been working really hard," coach Smith said. "I was happy to see that because I've been working with the defense to make sure we keep our shots low."
The Silver Eagles made it 2-1 with 13:05 left in the second when Jack LeMire scored on a rebound in front of the net.
"They were just moving the puck around and we were laying a body on people," Dreyfus said.
The Cheesemakers killed all four penalties against them, but were unable to muster much of an offense otherwise. Monroe opened the game with a stunning amount of possession time early on in the first period. The Cheesemakers shot eight goals in the first, just five in the second and only two in the third.
"We have to be a bit more patient with the puck, move it more," Dreyfus said. "All we can do is go forward from here."
Still, Monroe is faced with a young squad - there are zero seniors and just five juniors on the team of 26. That leaves plenty of room for improvement.
"Our biggest problem right now is mental - confidence and focus," coach Smith said. "That's why all these games the scores don't reflect how well we play. We play with these teams, we keep up with these teams, we can beat these teams - it's just that because we're young we lack that little bit of experience, that little bit of focus, that little bit of confidence that you can play with those guys."
"I would say it was probably about a minute-and-a-half this time," Monroe head coach Josh Smith said after his team's 4-1 loss to Monona Grove Monday. "It hurts, but it's progress. We're a young team and we're getting there.
"The frustrating part is this is a game, more than a few now, where the final score really doesn't show how close the game was. Either there was a lucky break or we made a mistake at the absolute worst possible time. And they (Monona Grove) were just able to capitalize on it."
The Cheesemakers (3-14-1, 1-7 Badger South) were less than a minute away from entering the third period down 2-1, but then disaster struck. After holding a lengthy possession near the Silver Eagle's net, the Cheesemakers had a series of poor passes - so, instead of getting a clean shot on goal they turned it over.
Monona Grove's Matthew Priebusch gathered the puck with his stick and flipped it to neutral ice to forward Tanner Smith, who went one-on-one and beat Monroe goalie Heath Bear on the breakaway.
"I think that line had been out there for a little too long and they got a little too tired. You make one little mistake ... and they caught us," coach Smith said.
Bear had 54 saves on 58 shots, good enough for a 93.1 percent save rate.
"Heath had a good game," coach Smith said. "I was always told as a goalie that you are responsible for the first one. And he was in there making the second, third, fourth saves. You can't ask him for more than that."
To make matters worse for Monroe, in the waning seconds of the second period the puck bounced around Bear and nearly went into the goal. A Cheesemaker tried covering it up in the crease and was called for a delay of game penalty - leading to a penalty shot.
"That's the first one I've ever seen in four years," coach Smith said. "Those are really hard to practice for (as a goalie). It's the mental game. It takes you doing it a few times to be solid."
Bear, a sophomore who had never faced a penalty shot, wanted redemption, as Tanner Smith was going to be the one to take the take the shot with 6 seconds remaining in the period.
Instead, Tanner Smith came up Bear's glove side, only to deke and pivot to stick side and blow the horn.
"I just hoped for the best since it was my first one ever," Bear said of the penalty shot. "I played it as I would any other moment."
Monona Grove (5-13-1, 3-6-1) scored the first goal of the game with 7:39 left in the first, as Michael Zande scored on a breakaway in which he made it back onsides by the tip of a skate.
Moments later on a power play, the Cheesemakers tied it up on New Glarus freshman Cooper Dreyfus' first career goal on a one-timer from the left side through traffic.
"I saw the puck coming and thought that I could maybe get a shot off. So, I shot the puck, saw it go off of someone's skate and through (the goalie's) five-hole," Dreyfus said. "It felt amazing."
Monona Grove's Dawson Dutcher was penalized for hooking at 3:28, and at 3:09 Dreyfus was able to take advantage.
"It was really nice to see Cooper get one, because he's been working really hard," coach Smith said. "I was happy to see that because I've been working with the defense to make sure we keep our shots low."
The Silver Eagles made it 2-1 with 13:05 left in the second when Jack LeMire scored on a rebound in front of the net.
"They were just moving the puck around and we were laying a body on people," Dreyfus said.
The Cheesemakers killed all four penalties against them, but were unable to muster much of an offense otherwise. Monroe opened the game with a stunning amount of possession time early on in the first period. The Cheesemakers shot eight goals in the first, just five in the second and only two in the third.
"We have to be a bit more patient with the puck, move it more," Dreyfus said. "All we can do is go forward from here."
Still, Monroe is faced with a young squad - there are zero seniors and just five juniors on the team of 26. That leaves plenty of room for improvement.
"Our biggest problem right now is mental - confidence and focus," coach Smith said. "That's why all these games the scores don't reflect how well we play. We play with these teams, we keep up with these teams, we can beat these teams - it's just that because we're young we lack that little bit of experience, that little bit of focus, that little bit of confidence that you can play with those guys."
