Grosse Pointe North 8 Mona Shores 0

To all WMHSH Blog readers. My anonymous Mona Shores correspondent created quite a stir the past few weeks with his literate, nickname-filled posts about the Sailors games. People either love it or hate it, which is fine, because they teach you that rule #1 in writing is DON'T BE BORING. While I handled the writing chores of the EK-Mona matchup on Friday, he is back in action with a post about Mona's trip to the championship game of the Stan Konrad tourney. So be prepared to love or hate. Regards, Brian "The Blogger" Edwards.


Mona Shores vs. Grosse Pointe North, 19th Annual Stan Konrad Memorial Tournament at the Lakeshore Sports Centre, Saturday January 12, Championship.

It was a conundrum. There I was, deep into Chapter 30, “The Sacking of Severus Snape” of the seventh and final entry in the epic series of Harry Potter tales, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. What better way to spend a Saturday night in Muskegon?

But the 19th annual Stan Konrad tournament championship game, featuring the marquee matchup of the visiting Grosse Pointe North Norseman vs. the host Mona Shores Sailors was just minutes away. What’s a West Michigan High School Hockey blogger and J.K. Rowling devotee to do?

Oh well, Dumbledore’s outing would just have to wait. There was a battle of hockey heavyweights to be witnessed, and by gosh, not the dark wizard Grindlewart nor the blackened souls of Lord Voldermort and his army were going to keep me from the Lakeshore Sports Centre.

Bad move.

The game which held so much promise wasn’t to be. It was a one sided, disappointing contest for Sailor faithful, with GPN taking command in the 2nd period and coasting to victory over a stunned Sailor team, fans and coaches, 8-0.

Was it the silly nicknames from former blogs, getting inside the heads of the Sailor’s players and trivializing their awesome accomplishments up until now, including a spectacular come from behind (down 4-1) victory over arch-enemy Kentwood in Friday nights showdown? Was it the ill advised advertising on the Konrad game program/lineup of Grosse Pointe North as being the Vikings as opposed to the Norseman, serving as bulletin board material and working the GPN players into a frenzy?

“...last night I was haunted by a vision of the lone biker of the apocalypse, a man with all of the powers of hell at his command. He could turn the day into night, and laid waste to everything in his path... (leaving) a scorched earth in his wake befouling even the sweet desert breeze which crosses brow. I didn’t know if he was dream or vision, but I feared that I myself had unleashed him.” - Ethan Coen’s H.I. McDunnough in Raising Arizona

Or, maybe it was just a letdown/meltdown by the Sailors coming off an emotional opening game and running into a buzzsaw that was the GPN Norseman, who played a spectacularly solid game backed by phenomenal goaltending. For the game, depending upon which player’s dad was recording the shots on goal, they were even at 26. Penalties were about even at 4-3 Sailors. And the first period was played evenly with one lone shorthanded goal by Sr. forward Kevin Gibson of the Norseman at 8:12. Shores had two excellent scoring chances in the first, one by JC “Boydz to Men” Boyd at 4:44 which clanged harmlessly off the post and another with just under two minutes left when Shores caught the Norsemen in a change with a streaking #9 Brett “Black Mold” Grevel on the receiving end of a nice outlet pass, only to be stymied by the more than capable netminding of Eric Rohrkemper.

The hit parade began in the second period, with two GPN goals in a span of thirty seconds and five goals in twelve minutes of play, combining to deflate the Sailor’s chances and hopes (see box score for those of you keeping score at home). Sailor goaltending was shared by Dan Harwood you like a nice Hawaiian Punch? and Scottie “Not Evil Enough” Tiefenthal, with Harwood absorbing the loss.

Shores hit of the game came appropriately from JC Boyd, who after losing the puck at the blue line and continuing to pursue it, skated through a GPN player and hit him so hard he knocked his mom out of the stands (5:29 in the 2nd for those of you keeping scrap books at home). Boyd recorded numerous shots for the game including twice hitting metal, which had this been a game of shinny as opposed to a sanctioned High School Hockey game would have been a very respectable outing.

Shores rebounds with a game Wednesday, the 16th against Grandville, 7:00 pm, at Southside. (Writer’s note: I briefly considered omitting nicknames altogether, particularly after a disappointing loss, but decided to do so would mean that the terrorists have won, hence, the continuation unabated of player nicknames)