Newport-Mesa catches Edison in standings
ANAHEIM — Across every sport, there are a few clichés that characterize the manner in which pivotal games are decided.
For baseball, it has long been held that good pitching beats good hitting.
Turn to hockey. When it matters most, games are most often decided by a couple of factors.
A hot goaltender can steal some games, and a willingness to go into the dirty areas is paramount to a team’s ability to make a deep playoff run.
Newport-Mesa had both of those forces at work on Friday night, coming away with a 2-1 victory over host Edison in a high-stakes game at The Rinks Anaheim Ice.
With the win, the Ice Kings (9-4-0-0, 27 points) drew even with the Chargers (9-4-0-0, 27 points) for second place in the Coast View Conference of the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League’s Junior Varsity Division.
Each team has one league game remaining in their regular season, and the Ice Kings appear to be in good position to get a high seed when the playoffs begin in March.
Newport-Mesa is the only team to have defeated first-place Orange Lutheran (11-1-1-0, 35 points). Edison finishes up against the Lancers on Feb. 11, while the Ice Kings will face Woodbridge (2-9-0-1, seven points) in their finale on Feb. 25.
“It’s a good feeling because we’re in a good spot now,” Ice Kings left wing Aaron Parsons said. “We’ll have an easier first round in the playoffs. Hopefully, we can get some momentum going.”
Parsons opened the scoring. Joseph Cianfrani controlled the puck along the right-wing boards. He passed it back to the blue line, where Jake Simko shot it along the ice. Parsons was creating traffic in front, and he deflected the shot over the shoulder of Chargers goalie Grey Godfrey (14 saves).
Later in the period, Newport-Mesa struck again on a chance in close. Defenseman Oliver Russell sent the puck from the top of the left circle to the far-side post. It was corralled by Cole Bergstrom, who put it in for a 2-0 lead.
“All the goals that we get, they don’t have to be fancy, toe-drag dangles,” Ice Kings Coach Lucas Romero said of his team crashing the net. “We’d like to get the guys to the front of the net, get pucks there, and hopefully we jam a few greasy ones home.”
“It was good to see Bergstrom get rewarded for going into those greasy areas, and good for him for it being the difference in the game.”
That was all that the Ice Kings needed. Gabriel Cognac (16 saves) was stellar in net. The goal he surrendered was to Luke Vanderveen when he received a cross-ice pass and beat him high to the blocker on a 2-on-1 breakaway with Patrick Jackson early in the second period.
Cognac’s best sequence came when he made consecutive point-blank saves in the closing minutes of the second period. Evan Osterkamp, who was named to the ADHSHL JV All-Star roster, stole the puck and was alone in front. The Newport-Mesa goalie waited out his deke, then got a piece of the shot with his blocker.
On the next shift, Alexander Osborn received a pass between the circles and released a quick wrist shot, which Cognac fought off again.
Cognac is the team’s only goaltender, which so far has been more of a gift than a curse.
“The only down is that it’s all on you,” he said. “If you get hurt, there’s no one to replace you.”
“The [positive] is that you’re seeing more shots, and you’re getting better in the process.”
