Trenton Showcase Updates

Some updates from today's Showcase, courtesy of coaches and correspondents down in Trenton:

TC West 5 Monroe St. Mary's Catholic Central 4 (OT) -- After playing the late game last night, TCW was not exactly primed to play an early game on Saturday, and it showed. The Titans looked kind of tired and sluggish for two periods, but managed to dig deep into the reserves for the win. TC West got on the board first with a goal by P.J. Dines, but then watched SMCC score four unanswered goals -- 3 on the PP and one shorty -- and extend the lead to 4-1 after two periods. Between the second and third, TCW Coach Jeremy Rintala gave his players a simple, low-key message: "You need to figure it out or our season will be over quick come play-off time."

"We've been struggling to score goals since the game against (TC) Central a few weeks ago," he told me. "Early in the season we were averaging 5 goals a game, but we've just been on the schneid...missing open nets, not hitting the tape, not communicating on odd-man rushes. I told them they needed to figure it out quick."

Evidently, the approach worked. West got on the board quickly with a goal by sophomore Mitchell Snider. Next came goals by Dylan Sullivan and then Shane Totten tied it with about 3 mintues left. Then, in OT, PJ Dines got his second of the day -- the game-winner with about 2:30 gone in the 5-mintue extra session. The OT victory gave TC West a split in the Showcase and may just prove to be the catalyst for a strong playoff run.

"This was huge for us," Rintala said. "It might end up being the biggest win of the season because of the momentum and the confidence it gives us. It would have been a real downer to come down here and get beat twice. Now, we feel like we can score goals again."