Three minutes into the first period and already up a goal, Walter Johnson had a 5-on-3 power play against the DC Stars—a co-op of students from Washington, D.C., schools—in its Montgomery County Tournament game on Friday.
Walter Johnson maximized the man-advantage opportunity, beating Stars netminder Anton Tracy twice in the next minute.
“It sucks the energy right out of the team,” said Brendan Klotz, Walter Johnson’s leader in points. “They’re facing an uphill battle, they start getting more selfish, it calms the game down for our guys and honestly, it makes the game more fun.”
Walter Johnson’s power play punch accounted for three first period goals in a dominant 6-0 victory at Rockville Ice Arena. With the victory, the defending state champions secured their place as one of the four Montgomery County Teams to advance to the MSHL State Tournament.
“I think that’s how we want to play every game, we really want to come out hard,” said Walter Johnson Head Coach Jared Webb. “We know our team is good enough to go anywhere we want to go, we just got to play like it all the time. That first period is where we want to be all the time.”
The Icecats finished the regular season second in the Montgomery County standings and top four in both scoring and goals allowed. However, the team’s weakness revolved around penalties.
Walter Johnson allowed two more goals than it scored in special teams situations and had 218 penalty minutes entering the game, the second most of any team in Montgomery County. But on Friday night, the Icecats were clinical on the power play. And the team’s penalty kill unit was equally dominant, keeping DC silent in its three power play opportunities.
“It’s huge. I think in the second half of the year we found something different with our power play and it’s kind of starting to click in for us,” said Webb.
The Icecats offense scored its six goals on only 25 shots on net. On the defensive side of the ice, Walter Johnson controlled its own zone, never allowing more than five shots on goal in a period and 10 for the entirety of the game.
Walter Johsnon has swept the three games these teams have played this season. On Oct. 13, three first period goals carried Walter Johnson to a 5-2 victory. Exactly two months later, the Icecats allowed three power play goals, but escaped with a 5-4 win.
“They’re deep on their forwards and their defense, they just keep coming,” said DC Stars Head Coach Brett Hatfield. “I kinda wish we did better than a six-nothing loss, but they are a really well rounded team.”
Tracy had 19 saves for DC, while Walter Johnson’s Isaac Russ had his first shutout of the season and credit for the victory.
As Klotz, who had a goal and two assists did a postgame interview, Ruslan Titov walked by. Klotz, who is also the team captain, said “he’s a beauty.”
That would be an accurate way to describe Titov’s dismantling of the Stars. He scored 55 seconds into the game, before adding a power play goal later in the first period.
With 11:15 remaining in the game, Titov performed a nifty move before completing his hat trick. Three minutes before his third goal of the game, he assisted a goal to Klotz only 15 seconds into the third period.
“He’s a very smart and cerebral player, he finds those open spaces,” Klotz said of Titov. “That’s really at this level all you need to do. If you can be smarter than everyone else and get yourself in the right position, the puck will find you.”
Walter Johnson’s continues with the MSHL playoffs, which will start on February 20. Walter Johnson, Walt Whitman, Winston Churchill Varsity 1 (Winston Churchill has two teams) and Bethesda-Chevy Chase are the four Montgomery County teams who earned a berth in the tournament.
The playoffs pit 16 teams, split into four groups against each other, culminating in the final on March 1 in Laurel.
On Friday the Icecats showcased why they have the potential to repeat as state champions.
“It’s really … understanding that we can be at the top of our game,” said Webb. “And that we have just as good a chance as anyone in the state to go back and win it again.”
Other Results from around Montgomery County
Five first period goals launch Bethesda-Chevy Chase past Wootton
Aleksandr Talty scored a hat trick in his second consecutive game, leading a Bethesda-Chevy Chase who scored five goals in the opening 15 minutes to a 10-4 victory.
Walt Whitman throttles Upper Montgomery
The Vikings accrued 50 shots on goal in a 6-1 victory over Upper Montgomery. Nicholas Huguely and Andrew Fou led Walt Whitman with two goals a piece.
Winston Churchill scores 10 in victory over Sherwood
Winston-Churchill got goal contributions from six different players in a 10-2 victory over Sherwood. Winston Churchill scored five goals in the final period.