By Josh Brown
Miami Valley Today
TROY — The Troy hockey team may be young.
But as the regular season nears its end, the Trojans are showing more and more signs of progress.
That was never more evident than over this weekend as Troy, after suffering a narrow 4-3 defeat to Sycamore Saturday at home, posted a solid victory over a tough Centerville team on Senior Night, winning 4-1 Sunday night at Hobart Arena.
After honoring their two seniors, Zak Uhlenbrock and Connor Bell, the Trojans improved to 3-13-2 and 3-6-1 in the Southwest Ohio High School Hockey League with the win Sunday over the Elks, who defeated Troy 6-1 during the Dayton Mayor’s Cup tournament back on Dec. 22, 2019.
After a scoreless first period Sunday night, Troy was able to take a 2-0 lead in the second. Connor Sexton scored with assists from Uhlenbrock and Cameron Lombardo, and then Kellen Glover added an unassisted short-handed goal to give the Trojans some breathing room. The Elks were able to convert on a power play, though, cutting the lead to 2-1 heading into the third.
In the final period, Mike McGuirk gave Troy some insurance, scoring on assists from Sexton and Garrett Paff, and then Sexton sealed the win with an empty-netter.
Bell made 16 saves in goal on the night to preserve the win as Troy outshot Centerville 31-17.
The previous night, Troy and Sycamore were tied 2-2 after two periods, but Sycamore was able to close out the win. Glover, Sexton and McGuirk each had a goal on the night.
The weekend followed another split by the Trojans on the road on Jan. 4 and 5 when they lost 10-1 to Talawanda one night and then bounced back to rout Elder 8-0 the following night. Lombardo had the lone goal against Talawanda, then Bell posted his first varsity shutout against Elder — which had beaten Troy in overtime earlier in the season. Maden Mathes, McGuirk and Uhlenbrock each had two goals against Elder, while Lombardo and Glover each added one.
Troy will compete in the Martin Luther King Tournament Friday and Saturday at South Metro.
Contact Josh Brown at [email protected], or follow @TroyDailySports on Twitter.
©2020 Miami Valley Today, all rights reserved.
