Blue Devils hockey gets in win column, Gaylord hosts Division 3 Showcase
GAYLORD ― With a team filled with underclassmen and players still learning themselves as hockey players, the Gaylord program has been looking to gain some confidence after a less-than-stellar start to the 2022-23 campaign.
Heading into last week looking for their first win of the season, the Blue Devils looked to gain some confidence while directing some of their attention to playing host, traveling to take on Tawas on Wednesday, December 7 before the annual Division 3 Showcase came back to Gaylord, Mich. on Friday and Saturday.
Wednesday proved to be the confidence boost they were looking for as the Blue Devils defeated Tawas 7-4 for their first win of the new season before dropping games to Grosse Ile and Big Rapids at the home showcase.
Special teams have been a big part of the problem for Gaylord through their first five games, with 11 of the 40 goals surrendered by Gaylord through the first five games coming with their opponent on a power play. That area of their game was much improved against Tawas, finishing 2-for-6 on the power play and 7-for-9 on penalty kills with three of their seven goals coming either on a power play or while shorthanded.
Isaac Hopp got Gaylord on the board first, quickly taking advantage of a Tawas high-sticking penalty with a power-play goal just 1:45 into the game.
Taking that 1-0 lead into the second period, Gaylord built the difference to three goals thanks to goals from Darren Warren and Bryton Thaxton that quickly put Tawas on their heels. Cody Primm would finally respond and get the Braves on the scoreboard, but another two goals from Thaxton gave him a hat trick and Gaylord a 5-1 lead into the third.
Tawas made a comeback attempt, scoring three times in the final period to make the final score close, but another two Gaylord goals from Thaxton and Drew Geyer put the finishing touches on the Blue Devils' victory.
It was a big night for Thaxton as he finished with four goals, including two shorthanded and two unassisted. Drew Geyer and Isaac Hopp both added a goal and two assists as the Blue Devils got in the win column for the first time.
Meanwhile, while the 12-team Division 3 Showcase featuring defending state champions Midland Dow and other top Division 3 teams was a resounding success from a hosting perspective, things didn't go as well for the program on the ice as they left with a pair of 6-1 losses to Grosse Ile and Big Rapids.
Against Grosse Ile, Hopp added his fourth goal of the season in the Blue Devils' Friday game, while Eric Olsen grabbed his first goal of the year in Saturday's loss to Big Rapids. Both games saw limited offensive opportunities generated by the Blue Devils, being outshot 105-16 over the two-game stretch.
As Gaylord falls to 1-7 on the season, the young, depleted team looks to lick its wounds a bit as they wrap up the 2022 portion of their season with home games against Traverse City West on Wednesday, Dec. 14 and Manistee on Friday, Dec. 16.
Then, as the calendar flips over, the Blue Devils hope to get a bit healthier and be more competitive down the stretch.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Blue Devils hockey gets in win column, Gaylord hosts Division 3 Showcase
