Pavelski's hat trick helps SPASH win Hockey Classic title By MIKE KEMMETER of The Gazette Joe Pavelski was not around last season when the Stevens Point Area Senior High hockey team finished last at its own Community Parks Hockey Classic. In the second annual four-team tournament, the freshman played a big role in helping the Panthers go from "worst to first." Pavelski scored all three of SPASH's goals Saturday night, as the No. 1 ranked Panthers topped the state's No. 7 ranked team, Madison West, 3-2 in the championship game at the K.B. Willett Arena. Pavelski, playing on SPASH's gold line with Eric Anderson and Jake Swenson, found the back of the net twice in the opening period and added an insurance goal in the third. The night capped off a big weekend for the trio, SPASH coach Jack Stoskopf said. "Nobody on that line cares if they score," Stoskopf said. "(Friday) night they played phenomenal and didn't get a goal. (Saturday) they got their payoff. They're our best line so far." SPASH came out and attacked the Regents in the first period, and persistent Panther pressure produced a pair of Pavelski goals. The first came at the 6:14 mark, when Eric Anderson controlled the puck along the right boards and found Pavelski skating toward the net and West goalie Adam Gepner. Pavelski took Anderson's pass and beat Gepner from the left side of the net. The second goal, nearly seven minutes later, was a mirror image of the first tally. This time Anderson skated along the left boards and found Pavelski just to the right of the net, where the freshman lit the lamp with a short-range shot. "Joe has developed quickly," Stoskopf said. "His physical maturity is his biggest asset." The Regents came out firing in the second period and the Panthers had a tough time getting the puck out of their own zone. The pressure finally caught up with SPASH at the 10:36 mark, as West's Ted Miller stuffed home a rebound amid traffic in front of Panther goalie Shaun Kruzitski. The goal cut SPASH's lead to 2-1. "They outplayed us in the second," Stoskopf said. "We talked about that before the third period. We had a little lapse." The lull ended when the third period started and Pavelski put the Panthers ahead by two, 3-1, 4:03 into the period. The freshman's centering pass from the left side deflected off of a West defenseman's skate and into the net, completing Pavelski's hat trick. The Regents got within one with 37 seconds left in the game when Ben Badger got a rebound goal. West then pulled its goalie but was unable to add a game-tying goal. With about five seconds left, both teams scrambled in front of the Panther net and the goal was knocked off its standard, stopping play. "It's nice to win your home tournament. Last year we did not show well," Stoskopf said. "I think Madison West played exceptionally well. If we're truly one of the top teams in the state, we should be able to play with those guys." Kruzitski finished with 24 saves, including 10 in the second period. Gepner had 20 saves for West. "Shaun Kruzitski had a big weekend," Stoskopf said. "Their first goal was questionable and he went back to work." SPASH 4, Appleton 2 A pair of first period goals and single tallies in the second and third periods gave the Panthers a win in the opener of the 2nd Annual Community Parks Hockey Classic last Friday. Josh Kujawa and Josh Pagel each found the back of the net in the first period, giving SPASH a 2-0 lead. Mark Lutz scored at the 3:20 mark of the second period to give the Panthers a 3-0 advantage. Appleton answered with a goal just under five minutes later but SPASH's Noah Johnson put the Panthers ahead 4-1 with a goal 30 seconds into the third period. Goalie Kruzitski saved 22 shots for SPASH.