{"id":803725,"date":"2020-02-01T17:39:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-02T00:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=378359"},"modified":"2020-02-01T17:39:00","modified_gmt":"2020-02-02T00:39:00","slug":"prep-sports-summary-summit-high-hockey-blasts-steamboat-on-the-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/prep-sports-summary-summit-high-hockey-blasts-steamboat-on-the-road\/","title":{"rendered":"Prep sports summary: Summit High hockey blasts Steamboat on the road"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Summit High freshman Autumn Rivera dribbles under pressure from Steamboat Springs senior Jaycee May during the Tigers’ road loss at Steamboat Springs High School on Friday, Jan. 31.<\/strong>
Shelby Reardon \/ Steamboat Pilot & Today<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

At the start of what head coach Joey Otsuka described as \u201cthe biggest 12 days of the season,\u201d the Summit High School varsity hockey team (9-4) dominated Steamboat Springs Friday night, winning 10-1 on the road.<\/p>\n

Weeks after Otsuka challenged the team to improve its power-play offense, the Tigers reeled off seven power-play goals last night in nine power-play situations \u2014 a whopping 78% success rate.<\/p>\n

The power-play success improved Summit\u2019s record to 6-1 in Peak Conference play, putting them atop the conference standings with 12 points before upcoming pivotal games at Glenwood Springs (Friday, 7:30 p.m.), at Aspen (Saturday, 6:15 p.m.) and home at Stephen C. West Ice Arena to take on the only conference foe Summit has lost to this season: Battle Mountain (Feb. 12, 6:45 p.m.)<\/p>\n

Reflecting on Friday night\u2019s win during a Saturday afternoon interview, Otsuka credited the team and assistant coach Wren Arbuthnot for the endless hours they\u2019ve spent on their power-play offense.<\/p>\n

\u201cWren has been working on the power play more than any team I\u2019ve ever coached, and it shows,\u201d Otsuka said. \u201cHe really does a good job, he takes a lot of pride in it and so do the players. And Friday we executed and moved with speed, intensity and accuracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tigers\u2019 power-play bounty began early in the first when senior Max Bonenberger channeled the silent-assassin spirit he\u2019s had all year, firing a laser for a 1-0 lead. Otsuka said the shot would have been a goal at any level of play.<\/p>\n

According to Otsuka, Bonenberger was one of two Tigers who scored hat tricks Friday, the other being Hank Kasch. Summit exploded for six second period and four third period goals on a 24-6 shots advantage over the final two periods.<\/p>\n

The coach said the Tigers had so much success in the second after the coaches stressed to the team to dig deeper and \u201cput on the sandpaper a little bit more.\u201d Channeling that toughness, the Tigers were urged to get in front of the net, deflect and tip shots and take physical hits in the corners to create opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe took a lot of sacrifices, a lot of beatings, rough hits,\u201d Otsuka said. \u201cThen we had a couple of key power-play goals, that pretty much turned the tide of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the defensive end, Otsuka said the comfortable goal margin allowed him to rest his seniors and leaders more and play three lines on defense, leading to a consistent showing and only 12 shots against senior goaltender Jake Mallory, of which he stone-walled 11.<\/p>\n

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