TRAVERSE CITY — Anthony Palumbo wanted to win the right way. Alonso Ovaitt just wanted to win. Brandon Meyers made them both happy.
Meyers scored with 4:14 remaining to give Traverse City West a 2-1 victory against rival Traverse City Central — the Titans’ first win over the Trojans in six seasons — in Wednesday’s Big North Conference hockey game at Howe Arena in Traverse City.
The game’s outcome was in limbo not only because it was close, but also because Howe Arena’s Zamboni suffered a mechanical failure, with the entire game played without the ice being cleaned. After two completed periods, the game could have been considered official if at any time referees deemed the playing surface unsafe and stopped the contest. West went into the third with a 1-0 lead.
Meyers, a four-year varsity player and team captain, notched his first win against Central. The Titans hadn’t taken down Central since an 8-3 decision Jan. 24, 2017.
“It’s even bigger because we haven’t won in a long time,” Meyers said. “I’m a senior, fourth year here — and I hadn’t won yet against Central. It’s been six or seven years since we won, so this was huge for us and our school and it just felt great. We don’t just want this one; we want the sweep.”
The teams meet up Feb. 16 in the regular-season finale for both, with the Jeff McCullough Memorial Challenge Cup on the line in a rare Friday night game between the rivals.
West goaltender Alonso Ovaitt made 34 saves against the team that cut him twice.
Ovaitt went to Central as a freshman and sophomore and didn’t make the team either season, transferring across town. Titans starter Mason West graduated last spring.
“It feels really good to beat a team that didn’t think I could make it on it,” Ovaitt said. “I proved them wrong.”
Meyers banged in a rebound off a Lincoln Seyferth shot with 4:14 remaining after Central had tied it up 1-1 on a Drew Zrimec unassisted goal with 13:40 left.
“Our team adapted really well; and my teammate, he put that on net, and it was just laying there for me,” said Meyers, who leads the Titans with seven points through six games. “I give the credit to Lincoln Seyferth. It’s not to me. He made my job really easy.”
The game became more interesting than normal when Howe Arena’s Zamboni wouldn’t start during the first intermission.
Both coaches agreed to play half of the second period and see if the ice-resurfacing vehicle could be repaired in the meantime, hoping to put off deciding to postpone the game.
When the game stopped at 8:25 of the second 17-minute period, the Zamboni still wasn’t starting. The engine would turn over, but not spark.
The arena’s loudspeakers played MC Hammer’s “2 Legit 2 Quit” during the second delay.
Central’s Chris Givens and West’s Anthony Palumbo even considered stopping the game just before the second period ended, discussing the option of throwing water bottles on the ice to force a stoppage before the period completed. That way the contest wouldn’t be official and could be completed at a later date. The referees said once the second period ends, a game is considered official if halted because of safety concerns.
“Both teams did a great job of staying focused,” Palumbo said. “Kudos to the kids. They wanted to play. I’m very proud of our team, but I think a lot of kudos go to Central, because I know Chris’ guys felt the same.”
In discussions during breaks as both teams waited for the Zamboni to get repaired, Palumbo adamantly didn’t want to win by having the game called during the third period.
“Central carried a lot of the play,” Palumbo said. “We had to play a lot of defense. We had to block a lot of shots. We had to really dig down and win some battles in front of the net.”
Both teams opted to play the third period on a surface that hadn’t been cleaned since well before the 6 p.m. opening faceoff. The game ended a little after 8 p.m.
Between the second and third periods, the areas in front of the benches were shoveled to remove a buildup of ice shavings.
“I’ve never spent so much time talking about ice conditions in my life,” Givens said after the game. “Anthony thought the same. You want the kids to play and finish this; you don’t want to come back another day. There’s so much build-up for it, you don’t want to tell them to come back another day and finish this. I was glad we could get it done.”
Givens said both coaches were asking players about the ice conditions, especially during the third period, with Givens saying most players said it was similar to the end of practice, when the ice doesn’t get cleaned the whole time.
“I want the kids to be able to play it all,” Givens said. “But then how far do you push it? You don’t want to put the kids in danger, either. It’s a tough one.”
TC Central (2-4, 1-1 BNC) has lost four straight since a 2-0 start, mustering only one goal in each of its last three contests.
TC West (3-3, 2-0 BNC) has alternated wins and losses all season. That made the Titans due Wednesday if they were to continue that trend.
“It’s a challenge to stay ready, stay warm, keep the hips moving, stay ready to play,” Oviatt said of the delays. “But it’s a big one. It’s a Big North Conference win, so it’s really big.”
West may have been a little more prepared for the unique challenges of this game. The Titans had their home contest last Friday against Gaylord delayed about an hour due to mechanical issues with the Blue Devils’ bus.
Seyferth put West up 1-0 in the first period on a power-play rebound out front. Robert Councilor and Meyers picked up assists.
“Brandon Meyers is number one, a really good hockey player,” Givens said. “And number two, he’s an incredible kid. He’s very polite, so down to earth, and he’s literally one of the nicest kids you’ll ever meet. We were so happy for him that he got to be on the winning end, as much as we didn’t want to lose the game.”
With five penalties in the opening period, the game saw 5-on-3s both ways, with West burning off 1:20 while being down two skaters and Central killing a brief eight-second 5-on-3 deep in its own end.
Central goalie Kiel Knapp made 19 saves.
Ovaitt kept his composure as Central threw 35 shots at him. He owns a .938 save percentage in five games this season, making 141 stops.
“Losing Mason (West) last year, we were really concerned,” Palumbo said. “Alonzo has done a very nice job, and Luke (Mosley) has provided a good second option for us. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have both of them here.”
Givens said Ovaitt not making Central’s team the last two years was a product of the Trojans traditionally not keeping three goaltenders.
“He’s a good goalie, obviously,” Givens said. “He got caught in a numbers game with us. We’ve been so lucky to have a really good goaltending, and I hate taking three. It’s so hard to keep two of them happy, and when you throw a third one in there, it’s just impossible. I totally understand him making the move. He’s got a lot of minutes there, and he’s playing well.”
Central hosts Cadillac at Howe on Friday, while West travels that night to Petoskey.