The hockey team started this season 1-2, struggling in a September Chicagoland tournament. Since then, the Tigers have gone a white-hot 23-8-2 and have won nine of their last 10 as they enter the final stretch of the regular season.
Senior forward Zach Cohn said the turnaround comes from the team getting more playing time together.
“We’ve honestly gotten a lot faster,” Cohn said. “Our game speed has increased a ton from the beginning of the season, when we were mostly playing even with teams, to now, where we’re dominating teams that we were playing close at the beginning of the year.”
When facing teams for the first time, EHS is 16-10-2. When playing teams they’ve already faced, Edwardsville is 8-0 with a +51 goal differential, signaling that the Tigers are quick to notice opponents’ flaws and capitalize on them, scoring three or more goals in every rematch so far this season.
“We just identify our mistakes in the game, which, for example, could be turnovers or faceoffs, and try to minimize or improve for next time,” senior forward Dean Schlarman said. “We also may notice if certain plays are working against teams and try to use those even more.”
Schlarman said that the team’s six-game winning streak is a product of the team playing with each other more.
“Continuing practice to improve our skills and gameplay has helped us build confidence and faster play,” he said.
On the ice, the Tigers are led by some of the best scorers in the MVCHA. Schlarman has 27 goals and 43 points in conference play, fourth-most of any skater, and senior Luke Thomilson is right behind him with 38 points.
“I am proud of the results that I am achieving this year,” Schlarman said. “It directly correlates to the work I did both on and off the ice to prepare for the season.”
In net, senior Miles Rosenthal and junior Brody Patton provide stability and consistency. Rosenthal allows 1.66 goals per game, the third-fewest in MVCHA (minimum 10 games), and Patton allows a fourth-fewest 1.83.
“A good team starts with a good goalie, and I can definitely tell everyone had doubts about me and Brody Patton instead of [former goalie] Kai [Vetter], who they were used to and trusted,” Rosenthal said. “But after … winning some big games and showing the team we can stop the puck with any team, any time, I don’t think they would want anyone else in net.”
Off the ice, the Tigers are led by Schlarman, Thomilson and seniors Grant Huneke and Atticus Arth, according to Cohn.
“They all bring a confidence to our team,” Cohn said. “None of them ever get too high or too low, and they are able to bring that calm demeanor to the rest of our team.”
For Schlarman, bringing confidence and the right demeanor is important given the team’s mix of younger players and experienced upperclassmen.
“As a seasoned member of the team, It’s my duty to set a positive example of what it means to be a good teammate, just as previous veterans mentored and guided me when I was younger,” Schlarman said.
According to Cohn, as those players get used to playing together, chemistry improves.
“For my line in particular, we all knew we were good players, but we didn’t have a ton of chemistry as a unit,” he said. “We were getting a ton of good chances at the beginning of the year but struggling to score, where now we’re starting to cash in the goals.”
The team’s seven-game win streak includes six multi-goal wins: 12-0 and 8-1 over FBWTL, 8-2 and 4-2 over Granite City, 9-2 over Parkway South and 6-0 over Collinsville. Cohn said the dominant victories are confidence boosters.
“We lost some good players last year, and I think sometimes some of us struggle with a confidence issue,” he said. “When we dominate good teams like them, I think it shows us how good we can be.”
Cohn added that, as the team gains confidence and chemistry, the vibe in the locker room improves.
“The feeling … now is pretty confident,” he said. “We know what we have to do to accomplish our goals this season, but we also know that we need to bring our best every game because every team … wants a shot at us.”
Those teams won’t have many more chances to knock off the Tigers before the playoffs. EHS has four more regular season games, and their 18-1 conference record puts them in position to have the one seed in the postseason.
If the standings hold for the rest of the season, the Tigers will play the winner of a Granite City/Collinsville matchup in a best-of-three series. So far, EHS is a combined 6-0 against the Warriors and Kahoks.
“The playoffs are a whole different beast, and anything you did in the regular season really doesn’t matter if you can’t play in the playoffs,” Cohn said. “But we feel really good about knowing what their weaknesses are and how to expose them. We’d honestly feel really good about any matchup we get.”
Edwardsville is likely to play O’Fallon, who they’re 1-1 against, in the MVCHA Championship. They’ll face off Jan. 28, in the last game of the regular season, possibly to decide the one seed.
“We know that if we want to beat them then we’d have to play our best game against them,” Cohn said. “I’m hoping that [in] our last regular season game … we’ll get a real taste before the playoffs.”
According to Rosenthal, while the playoffs are weighty, the team shouldn’t be nervous.
“No matter your position or stats, playoffs will be stressful,” he said. “If we keep playing the way we’ve been playing, the team should have no doubt on the goaltending. Me and Brody have dominated some of the most powerful teams – not just in the MVCHA and Illinois hockey – but also some of the best players in the region. I definitely plan to show that to whoever has to face us.”