Chelsea Hockey Splits Two at MHSPH Showcase

Teams from all over the state converged on Arctic Coliseum in Chelsea this week for the Michigan High School Public Hockey Showcase and the Chelsea hockey team came away with a split of two games at the event.

The Bulldogs opened with a tough 3-2 loss to Rockford Thursday night.

After a scoreless first period, the Rams exploded for three goals in the second to take a 3-0 lead into the third.

Chelsea began to peck away at the Rockford lead when Nic Smith scored for the Bulldogs with 8:20 left in the third.

The lead would be cut to 3-2 when Shane McLaughlin found the net with just under five minutes left, but the Bulldogs could not find the equalizer in a 3-2 loss.

Kyle Valik and Brandon Davila earned assists for Chelsea, while Luke Webster made 25 saves in net.

The Bulldogs bounced back with a 4-2 win over Marysville Friday night.

Jacob Brant and Stevie Cattell scored first period goals to put the Bulldogs up 2-0 after one period.

Marysville answered with a pair of second period goals to even things at 2-2 after three.

Chelsea retook the lead with 6:50 left when Eli Russell knocked home a power play goal on a mad scramble in front of the net to make it 3-2.

Things got dicey in the final moments when the Bulldogs were called for a penalty with 1:53 left to go a man down.

Marysville pulled its goaltender for a 6 on 4 advantage, but Keegan Montgomery would seal the win with an empty net goal with 24 seconds remaining for the 4-2 final.

Lucas Milne picked up two assists, while Montgomery had one for Chelsea.

Chelsea improved to 10-6-2 overall on the season.