Ice Hockey: Cougars Pull Out Win With Shortened Roster

In the sometimes peculiar world of the Northern Virginia Scholastic Hockey League (NVSHL), the day and time of a game may have a huge impact on the outcome.

Saturday night’s game between Oakton High School and Dominion was no exception. Because of travel hockey team commitments, a number of key players were unavailable for either all or part of the game. In the end, Oakton was able to do enough with its makeshift roster to pull out a wild 8-6 win in a game played at Ashburn Ice House.

Senior Mason Hauser scored two late goals, including an empty-netter, to help Oakton pull away from the stubborn Dominion team. Zac Kozero also added two goals as Oakton was able to withstand a furious Dominion comeback to improve its record to 3-4 and keep its NVSHL playoff hopes alive.

The tenor of the game was set early, with five total goals scored in the first five minutes of the game. Dominion’s Matty Reynolds scored 24 seconds into the contest, but Kozero evened up the score just 50 seconds later. Reynolds quickly answered back, posting his second goal of the game with 12:02 left in the first period.  fter that, Oakton started to take control as Max Harrison and Joyce Jang added tallies that put Oakton up 3-2 after one period.

Oakton dominated most of the second period, netting three goals by Kozero, Alex Lambrides and Jamie Cooper to take a 6-2 lead into the last minute of the period.

But that’s when Dominion started to turn the tables. Alex Bahlau scored two goals in a 10 second span, including a blistering slapshot with 40 seconds left to make the score 6-4. Oakton was up by two goals, but the momentum had shifted.

The third period was a wild one and took on very physical tone. While Reynolds and Oakton’s Taylor Higgins trading hits throughout, Dominion carried over the energy from its two late second-period goals to quickly tie the score at 6, including Reynolds' third goal of the game. With 13 minutes left, the comfortable Oakton lead had disappeared. Dominion kept up the pressure, piling on shots and finishing the game with a 30-27 advantage in shots on goal.

But Oakton showed its resilience and with 2:26 left, Lambrides fed Mason Hauser with a perfect pass that he tucked in for a score to put Oakton up 7-6. Hauser finished the scoring with an empty net goal to secure the 8-6 victory for the Cougars.

“It was a spirited affair,” said Oakton head coach John Alexa. “It was definitely one of the more physical games, and I was proud of the effort the guys made in picking up for the players who couldn’t be here.”

Among the Oakton players unavailable due to travel team commitments were the top two scorers, Sam Buck and Trevor Herrinton, as well as solid playmakers Trey Aiello and Ariana Rucker. But the team got contributions from everyone Saturday and pulled out an important win.

Oakton now has a few weeks off until its next game against Herndon on Jan. 27 at Ashburn Ice House.

— Bob Sandler contributed this report