LHS Varsity hockey ended the year with a lopsided win over league opponent Fenton United Griffins on Tuesday night (12/19).

The pregame featured an elaborate Griffin intro festooned with lights, fog and a sparkling 'lights out' entry at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, MI. Coach Matt Busterna said this of the build-up before puck drop: "It felt like a Taylor Swift concert was about to go down."

Alas, Swifties in the house were instead treated to an eight goal Eagles offensive show. The Griffins battled hard in the first until 11 minutes into the period when senior Captain Brennan Grant cashed in on a powerplay thanks to two on-the-money passes from junior Adam Tryczinski and sophomore Austin Scanlon. Tryczinski added a goal of his own after D-man Tyler Buback squashed a Griffin attack. Sophomore Nate Dell carried the loose puck into Fenton's zone and floated a pass to Tryczinski who snapped a hard shot for the goal. Grant scored his second of the period on LHS' second powerplay from about the same spot on the ice as his first (assist Cap'n Tim Hinkle). 3-0 after one.

Lakeland poured on the heat and added three more goals in the third period. Dell and Tryczinski connected again on their way to big four and five point nights respectively. Dell gathered a loose puck in the high Lakeland slot and fed Tryczinski who was already on the go. Both players drove the net hard with Tryczinski electing to score his second over the Griff tender's shoulder. Senior Elliot Smith scored next thanks to persistent forechecking by linemates Joel Slicker and Jacob Verbick. Then it was back to the Dell-Tryczinski combo this time with Dell burying a clapper off a Tryczinski setup. 6-0 after two.

The game ended quickly in the third due to a four minute Eagles powerplay. Hinkle popped a nice goal from the blue line helped by an effective Smith goalie screen. Tryczinski ended the game when he scored his third goal for his first hattrick as an Eagle (Scanlon, Grant). 8-0 final.

Coach Ronayne: "I'm happy with the overall effort. We had multiple players with multi-point games. Bryce Martin, Grant, Hinkle and especially Dell and Tryczinski blew up the game. Everyone including players not on the scoresheet put in the work and it paid off tonight. Glad to see Paul get his second shut-out."

The Eagles end 2023 with a 8-3 record and will pick up the new year on January 6th vs Lakes Area Unified.