In their first game action of the new calendar year, the Oxford-Avondale United hockey program took to the ice at the Detroit Skating Club to battle the Bloomfield Hills Black Hawks on Jan. 9.
The result of an interesting scheduling quirk, this was OAU’s second time facing the Black Hawks in as many Oakland Activities Association (OAA) White games. OAU previously blanked Bloomfield Hills, 1-0, in an upset victory on Dec. 14.
With DSC serving as the home rink for both schools, OAU was the designated away team this time around after serving as the host in the first meeting. Likely remembering their offensive struggles in the first meeting, the Black Hawks lit the lamp early and often in this one, cruising to a 10-2 victory.
Senior Roman Brown gave Bloomfield Hills a 1-0 lead at the 10-minute mark of the first period. Less than four minutes later, classmate Colin Segasser – the team’s captain – extended the Black Hawks’ cushion to 2-0.
OAU appeared on the scoreboard when junior Brendan Vogler found the back of the net with 35 seconds left in the opening frame. Unfortunately, this did not result in any momentum for Derek Billis’ team as Bloomfield Hills would record three more tallies in the second period, including two in a 1:22 span.
Junior Nate Poplars (Avondale) added OAU’s other goal with 12:04 left to play. Classmate Austin Spivey played the first two periods in net before being replaced by another junior, Brett Dinges.
“That was a rough one,” Billis summarized. “We got them earlier this year, and knew we were going to get their best tonight.”
Tied with Farmington United at two points, OAU currently occupies a share of fourth-place in the OAA White. The Black Hawks moved back to .500 in league play at 3-3 (six points), two points shy of first-place Troy United.
OAU was scheduled to clash with the Grand Blanc Bobcats at the Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center in Flint on Jan. 11, but the game was postponed due to inclement weather.
Their Jan. 14 game against West Bloomfield was not finished before press time.