Bay Reps oust Northwest Warriors

Hockey

March 2, 2010

Peacock scores three goals in win

BY JAMES COOK The Record Eagle Tue Mar 02, 2010, 07:28 AM EST

TRAVERSE CITY -- The Bay Reps scored 4:18 into the game and with the intense pressure they were putting on the Warriors, it looked like the game would be a rout.

Enter Tyler Jensen.

The Northwest Warriors' senior goalie made 56 saves to avoid a repeat of last year's first-round mercy by Traverse City Central.

Instead, it was a win-win type of game, as the Reps ended up winning the Division 2 pre-regional game 4-1 Monday night.

The second-year Warriors avoided a rout and scored their first playoff goal, and the Reps were able to control much of the game and advance to play Central on Wednesday.

"They're tough," Reps coach Todd Spaulding said. "I expected that. We came out a little flat, but hats off to them. They made it difficult for us. We made some mistakes and they made us pay for it."

The Reps -- who mercied the Warriors 8-0 Dec. 6 in their second game of the year -- advance to face eighth-ranked Traverse City Central on Wednesday at Howe Arena.

"That team has improved a lot," said Reps forward Jake Peacock, who notched his third hat trick of the season in the win. "We saw them coming. They've played some good teams and improved a lot. We knew it wasn't going to be easy. In the playoffs, it's a different kind of game. Their goalie was really good."

Peacock scored two of his three goals in the third period to give the Reps some breathing room in a game that Jensen kept close on the scoreboard despite a stark disparity in shots on goal.

The Reps ended with a 60-9 advantage in shots, including 24-1 in the second period. Kenny Simmons intercepted a pass in the slot and made the Warriors' only shot on goal of that period count, lifting a backhander past Trent Lee.

The Reps countered with a power-play goal, as Scott Luca's knuckling shot bounced in front of Jensen and into the twine with 1:05 left in the second. Michael Elliott and Jake Soenen picked up assists.

Jake Peacock scored the first period's only goal, intercepting a pass in the slot and firing a wrister past Jensen, who faced 20 shots in the first 15 minutes of play.

"We went into this game knowing we were the underdogs," Jensen said. "But we knew we had the confidence that we knew how to play the game and followed that through. They played really well tonight."

The Reps (14-10-1) are 6-1-1 since the start of February.

"It was nice to face those guys twice this year," Warriors coach Charlie O'Hearn said. "Just playing teams like that helps us build our reputation and then having our guys come out and work as hard as they did today, I couldn't be more proud of them. With only 11 skaters and a goalie, I felt everybody played just phenomenal."

The Warriors were down 3-1 and pulled Jensen for an extra attacker with 42 seconds left. A Warriors penalty with 22.5 ticks remaining brought Jensen back in, and the Reps finished off the scoring with a power-play goal 16.8 seconds left, Peacock's third of the game. Quinn Lyman and Jason Baker picked up assists.

"He was the reason we were in it," O'Hearn said of Jensen. "We've had him for two years and he's been a real gem. He peaked at the right time and had the best game of his career. We needed every one of those saves to be in the game, and without him tonight, we wouldn't have done what we did."

The Warriors (6-18) were outshot 54-1 in last year's playoff debut against TC Central.