Troy

Troy and Athens hockey teams will start postseason head to head

By Mike Moore
C & G Sports Writer

» Click on image to view full size « Photo Erin Sanchez Edmund Qiao (14) and the Troy hockey team are 1-1 against Athens this year, having won 8-4 and lost 5-1. The teams meet on the first night of the playoffs. Photo Erin Sanchez Edmund Qiao (14) and the Troy hockey team are 1-1 against Athens this year, having won 8-4 and lost 5-1. The teams meet on the first night of the playoffs. Photo Erin Sanchez Photo by Patricia O’Blenes | Nathan Gurzell gets away from a Shores defender during a game earlier this season. Athens is 2-0 in program history against Troy in the postseason, including last year’s 1-0 win in double overtime. Photo by Patricia O’Blenes Nathan Gurzell gets away from a Shores defender during a game earlier this season. Athens is 2-0 in program history against Troy in the postseason, including last year’s 1-0 win in double overtime.

TROY — If there’s no other night filled with more anticipation for high school hockey fans than the start of the playoffs, then there’s no better way to start them than the way Troy High and Troy Athens are about to.

Head to head.

The city rivals will kick off the Division 1 tournament Feb. 27 in a pre-regional game.

Officials will drop the puck at 8:30 p.m. at the Troy Sports Center, and it almost goes without saying how much the teams are looking forward to it.

But Tim Zimmerman and Joe Barone said it anyway.

“Oh, you love to play your rival, no doubt about it,” said Barone, the Red Hawks’ head man. “You know that arena is going to be packed. You know it’s going to be so loud in there, and at the end of the night, if you’re on the right side of the scoreboard, you beat your rival.”

“In a perfect world, we’d see them in the district title, but this is going to be great,” said Zimmerman, Troy’s coach. “We expect to see their best game, and we have to be ready to bring ours.”

This marks the third time since 2006, the final year the schools shared a hockey team, Troy and Athens will meet in the postseason.
In 2008, and after falling to the Colts twice in the regular season, Athens beat Troy 4-1 in the regional round.

Last year, the teams met in the pre-regional, and Athens escaped with a 1-0 victory in double overtime.

This year, though, Zimmerman said there’s a different feeling heading into the postseason battle, mainly because of how lopsided both regular-season games turned out.

“It’s almost like we’re resetting and starting from scratch,” said Zimmerman, whose Troy team beat Athens 8-4 Dec. 14 but then lost 5-1 Feb. 8. “Both games were so lopsided, how you approach this one is sort of mystery.”

“In years past, there’s always been some sort of storyline to go off of,” Barone said. “This is a little different.”

One thing is for sure: The playoff meeting is coming at the perfect time for both teams.

After a slow start to the season, Troy has found a new gear, going 9-3-0 since the new year, running the season record to 14-9-0.

Athens, a team loaded with youth and inexperience, battled through a seven-game losing streak in December and January, but has since gone 3-3-1, including the win over Troy.

“We’re trending upwards, and that’s all I can really ask,” Barone said.

So what’s the game plan heading into the Feb. 27 matchup?

“We have to slow down their top line. That’s a team that will throw it’s weight around and can put the puck in the back of the net,” Barone said of Troy, which had scored four or more goals in six of its past seven games leading up to press time. “Discipline is going to be huge. In the game they beat us up, we took way too many penalties.”

Zimmerman’s assessment was similar.

“We can’t take any bad penalties, because they have a good power play and I know they’d love to use it,” he said. “Special teams are going to be huge, but we’re looking forward to it — I know the kids are. It should make for a great night.”
 

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Mike Moore at mmoore@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1038.