Comets Hockey Team takes down Sycamore 3-1
Divyana Bose | Sports Writer
Cody Allgor | Sports Writer
It was the ‘battle of the skies,’ ice version today at the South Metro Sports Arena in Dayton, Ohio.
The Mason Comets defeated rival Sycamore 3-1 in a game that was the complete opposite of a game played earlier this season when the two teams combined for 14 goals. A game that was won by the Comets on January 9.
The matchup proved its rivalry-like expectations after a defensive first period. When the horn sounded at the end of the first period the two teams were deadlocked at 0-0. Midway through the second period, junior Jacob Kraimer found the back of the net for the Comets, giving Mason the 1-0 lead. Kraimer said that goal was critical in creating momentum that he felt could last the entire game.
“Once we started building on that I knew we could finish strong,” Kraimer said.
Thirty-nine seconds later, senior Jason Clabbers scored a goal giving the Comets a 2-0 lead. Clabbers said that by anticipating the moves of his teammates, he was able to put the puck in the net.
“I was in the right spot at the right times,” Clabbers said. “I was thinking about what my teammates would do in certain situations and I used that to my advantage and ended up scoring a goal.”
Sycamore made things interesting when they closed the gap to 2-1 in the final period when senior Jacob Glutz sent the puck flying into the net.
From there it was the Comets defense who would take it the rest of the way by shutting down the Aves. A last-minute goal by junior Zach Burger put the exclamation point on the win for the Comets.
This was the second game in three days for Mason. Friday night the Comets suffered a defeat to league-leading Beavercreek. After that loss senior Blake Mahoney felt the team needed to bring some energy to the ice if they were going to bounce back with a win.
“One thing we did well was that we kept our shots low and crashed in after the rebounds afterward,” Mahoney said. “But also, last game I didn’t keep my cool very well but today as a senior I felt like I had to lead by example for the team.”
Clabbers feels the team is starting to come together at just the right time. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was hard for the Comets to play together in the offseason. He said that it feels better than ever to be on the ice.
“It felt good just to be out on the ice, having a good game with your teammates after a year-long gap of not being at the rink,” Clabbers said. “This year feels a lot different than years past and I think we’re going to go far this season.”
Photo by Rilee Malloy