Fraser

'Eye on the prize'

By Brad D. Bates
C & G Sports Writer

Photo by Patricia O’Blenes Fraser High senior defenseman Alex Vollmers was one of 11 seniors who helped the Ramblers to a runner-up finish in the MAC Blue.

Fraser hockey sees improvement in results, expectations in year two

FRASER — As the Fraser High hockey team wrapped up its league season with a 6-3 loss to Port Huron High, coach Don Krussman had mixed emotions.

Krussman saw his team fall to the Macomb Area Conference Blue Division champion Big Reds for the second time this year, but like the Ramblers’ first loss to Port Huron, it was a sign of how far they had come in their second season together.

“We’re playing better, but there’s still some things we can improve on,” said Krussman, whose Ramblers ended up in second place in Blue Division with a 5-4-0-1 record. “We’re a lot further along, and as a team we’re playing a lot better, but we still need to get to the point where we can get a full team effort with all 20 guys engaged.”

Fraser lost to Port Huron 5-4 in overtime Jan. 16, but the effort he saw from his team in the 6-3 setback Feb. 26 at Great Lakes Sports City reaffirmed Krussman’s belief that his team isn’t far from competing for a league title.

“We’ve got to combine energy and passion with composure,” Krussman said. “When you’re 17, it’s hard to balance that. You can get one and not the other. We want to get a team that plays with its foot on the accelerator, but with composure, as well.”

If the Ramblers are to break through and win a championship, they have a base built to do so, as perhaps the most obvious of their many improvements in 2009-10 was on defense.

After Fraser allowed 136 goals in 2008-09, it allowed only 105 this season.

Junior goalie Dan Slaughter, who was in net from 20-plus games for the second straight season, lowered his goals against average from 5.67 to 4.05 and raised his save percentage from .762 to .789.

And the Ramblers’ increase in wins from five in 2008-09 to nine this year could have been even greater if not for their 2-7 record in games decided by two or fewer goals.

“We lost a lot of close games that we could have put away,” Krussman said. “They need to go out there to a man and put together complete hockey shifts.

“Play defense, get the puck, play offense — simplify the game. You don’t have to go hit a guy if can just get the puck. Just get the puck.”

Fraser did win two of its last three games within the two-goal margin and showed signs it was heeding Krussman’s advice on what can turn the tide in close games.

Senior forward Brandon Walters said part of the reason for his team’s success this year was the momentum it gained after stretches like its four-game winning streak from Feb. 6 to Feb. 19.

“It makes the season easier, and it’s always more fun when you win,” Walters said. “It came easier every time. Once you win one, you win two, and before you know it, it’s three or four.”

And he believes that if his young teammates, such as junior forward Kyle Kowal, who led the Ramblers with 13 goals and 30 points, stick with what helped them find success this year, they can fulfill their coach’s championship aspirations.

“When a team starts winning, you start attracting more players, and we’ll have more talent,” Walters said of how this year can carry over to next.

“We need to keep the same effort and mentality, though. We need to keep the eye on the prize.”

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Brad D. Bates at bbates@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1029.