Defense sparks win over Chatfield
Mustangs win 2-1.
LITTLETON – Devon Brady admits that he sounds like a broken record or a CD that skips.
But what else would a head coach of a younger, emerging ice hockey team sound like?
His team, Mullen, earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory on Saturday night in the Highlands Conference at The Edge and, predictably, his postgame comments continued to be similar.
“I know I sound like a broken record,” he said. “We didn’t play our best, but … we found a way and it’s another step.”
In fact, it was a large leap. Indeed, the coach’s comments included words such as “young team” and “we’re still learning” and “we need to do a better job” and so on, but the part about finding a way to win on this night really did involve taking another step. The Mustangs, now 5-2 overall and 1-2 in conference, have had both losses come to Columbine by a goal after they held leads in both, including Friday’s 4-3 setback in which they led 3-1.
“It’s huge,” Mustangs senior defenseman John Witwer said, “especially after last night. Knowing how to win and knowing how to take care of it – tonight, we took care of business and it’s a huge confidence-builder.”
And it was the defense that led the way with both goals as welcomed sites as well as coming off slickly.
In taking a 1-0 lead 5:24 into the game, Witwer broke free down the left side and got to the back of the Chargers defense. He set up his sophomore brother, Robby, to finish in front and he did for a 1-0 lead.
“Roy’s good there and I knew he would,” Joh Witwer said.
Chatfield, now 2-7, 0-4, responded less than 4 minutes into the second period to tie it, but Mullen immediately took a stand, capped by a low shot from the right point by sophomore defenseman Aidan Cashman off feeds from John Baird and Utah Bryant to retake the lead and keep it at 5:20 of the second.
“It was nice and low,” Brady said of Cashman’s shot.
Even though the Mustangs were outshot 32-19, including 24-12 over the final two periods, they flirted with adding a third goal multiple times, their defense remained solid and, as usual, junior goalie Connor Mahon was there when needed.
The game had no power-play scores – Mullen killed off all three against the Chargers – and the Mustangs also didn’t take the bait when the Chargers attempted to play a physical game.
“We kept our heads, which is another good thing to see,” Brady said. “Again, it’s another step in the right direction.”
Next for Mullen will be a game in yet another scheduling quirk on Saturday, Jan. 12, against – you guessed it – Chatfield at The Edge, 6:15 p.m.
MULLEN 2, CHATFIELD 1
Chatfield 0 1 0 -- 1
Mullen 1 1 0 -- 2
Mullen Scoring
First Period – Robby Witwer (John Witwer), 5:24.
Second Period – Aidan Cashman (John Baird, Utah Bryant), 5:20.
Power-play Opportunities – 0-for-5.
Penalties – 5 for 10 minutes.
Shots on Goal – 7-7-5 -- 19
Saves – Connor Mahon, 31.
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