Haven hockey wins opener over Holt

Thu, Nov 19, 2009    to del.icio.us

Grand Haven's varsity hockey squad opened its season with a 4-2 win over visiting Holt on Wednesday at The Edge Ice Arena in Holland.

Holt actually grabbed an early lead when Nick Crawford snuck one past Grand Haven goalie T.J. Roth with 6 minutes, 47 seconds remaining in the first period.

The Buccaneers tied the game just two minutes later when Josh Kooi scored a power play goal off an assist from Conor Fredricks.

Eric Bogdans and Heath Wagenmaker then added second-period goals, with assists to Zach Curry, Will Verduin and Jake Kramer, as the Bucs surged ahead 3-1.

Holt made it 3-2 on Max Poole's goal with 3:47 to play in the third, but the Bucs' defense held strong over the closing minutes, and Kramer's empty-netter from Kooi with 19 seconds to go put the game out of reach.

Roth finished with 22 saves in goal for Grand Haven, which returns to the ice on Saturday against Portage Northern. That game takes place at 7 p.m. at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo.