As Vanoy leads the way, young Generals show signs of growth in romp
NEWARK ― Max Vanoy is one of the few seniors on the sophomore-dominated roster of the Newark Generals.
On Thursday, "teacher" was rewarded by "pupils" with his first-ever hat trick, a sure sign of growth for the youthful team as it blew past the PHA Prowlers 8-1 in the Ohio Scholastic Hockey League at Reese Ice Arena.
"Max has been lighting it up, so you kind of expect that," coach Patrick Brighton said after Newark improved to 5-6 in the league. "When he gets those feet moving, teams don't want to play against him. He's our leader, and he does it by example."
The young players look up to Vanoy, a stellar golfer on Newark Catholic's back-to-back state runner-up teams.
"Max works very hard and is a good role model for us," said sophomore Woody Struthers from Granville. "He keeps our energy up, so it's good to see him have a game like that."
Vanoy had plenty of help on a night the Generals outshot the Prowlers 36-16. Five others scored goals.
Junior Mason Williams from John Glenn set the tone barely a minute in when his rocket from just inside the blue line glanced off the goalie's glove and into the net. A few minutes later, sophomore Evan Spiker scored from the right side on a tough angle, off assists by Koen Fischer and Blake Sauberzweig. Then Vanoy made it 3-0 at 5:50 of the first off a Derek Benze touch.
Newark really took off during the second period with four goals.
Struthers started the scoring parade by poking it home from in front of the net on a pass from Fischer. Then it was Colin Jones scoring on assists from Nick Allen and Trevor Enders. Vanoy then one-timed it in, with Nash Watling and Enders credited with assists, and his third goal, at 5:13 of the second, came off a Williams pass for a 7-0 lead. He nearly had a fourth, but it clanged off the post.
Sophomore Max Morrow from John Glenn rounded out the scoring on an unassisted goal with 8:53 left.
Yet another "super soph," Heath's Dylan McLean, lost his shutout in goal with only 13.4 seconds to play. He made 15 saves.
"At the very beginning, it was kind of hard to get used to the faster pace, since most of us had played jayvees," Struthers said of the sophomores. "But we've always been together, playing since we were like 8 or 9, and that helped make it easier. This will help push our momentum forward."
Brighton said the biggest improvement he has seen has been with maturity.
"At the start of the season, they were showing emotions on the bench, but now you see them taking more of a businesslike approach," he said. "They're taking criticism, and looking to help their teammates."
Vanoy has preached patience with the first-time varsity performers.
"A lot of it has been not having a lot of varsity experience," he said. "I've tried to pound it into their heads to relax and not get ahead of themselves. At first, they were timid, but now they've learned. When I got those three goals, I wasn't trying to score anymore. I was looking for my teammates and getting their confidence up."
Noted Brighton: "The main objective is to be unselfish. Make the extra pass, get that extra look, and I think you were seeing that more tonight."
Added Struthers: "We've started to take more time and slow it down more."
With the postseason approaching, the Generals appear to be peaking. Recently, they beat Bishop Watterson 8-1 and the Northeast Storm 5-0 and lost a 2-1 heartbreaker against Dublin Coffman. Linsly, West Virginia, is up next, then there is a four-game showcase at Cleveland.
"We are playing the best hockey we can at the right time, and that is at the end of January," Brighton said.
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: As Vanoy leads the way, young Generals show signs of growth in romp
