Hudsonville 4 Lowell-Caledonia 0

All the best hockey coaches I've ever known want to learn something from their games, especially the losses. With that in mind, I asked Lowell-Caledonia head coach Mike Ballard what he learned from his team's 4-0 loss against Hudsonville tonight, despite outshooting them 34-22. His answer: "We learned that Hudsonville has a pretty good goalie."

True enough. H'ville's senior goalie Pete Herman turned back all 34 shots he faced to earn the shutout and help the Eagles to their 12th win on the season. The match was anything but a blowout hockey game. In fact, it was more like a track meet at times, especially in the second period. The difference was that Hudsonville converted on its chances, while L/C could not. And that, mostly, was due to Herman's solid play in the nets.

Of course, it didn't hurt that Hudsonville had senior forward Alex Host on the ice for what seemed like every other shift. The Eagles were down three kids to illness, and the coaches said there were some other kids on the bench who were less than 100%. So the senior all-stater did his part, scoring three goals and assisting on the fourth. John Kersaan and Alex DeCorte each had two assists in the game.

Both coaches seemed pleased with their teams' performances, as they prepare for the conference stretch run. L/C takes on South Christian tomorrow night in a matchup of OK-3 leaders. Hudsonville has another non-conference date this weekend with GR Christian at the infamous Jolly Roger Ice Rink, which is under new management. (Pix and scoresheet are below.)