Icecats senior captain Brendan Klotz has led the team in points every season he has played for WJ. But this season, his status as the team’s top scorer was questioned as he injured his shoulder and was declared out for 6-12 weeks. Upon his dramatic return on Wednesday, Dec. 20, Klotz scored 4 goals and led the Icecats to a 5-2 win over the undefeated Churchill Bulldogs, answering any lingering questions about his hockey ability.

Since losing the state final to the Icecats last March, the Bulldogs’ revenge campaign had enjoyed much success, not losing a single game, going 8-0-1. Entering the matchup, the Bulldogs had scored an average of 6.88 goals per game while allowing only 1.56 goals.

However, the Icecats stood undeterred and opened the game with a 3-goal period. Junior Max Epstein first lit the lamp seven minutes in, before Klotz scored goals at the 10-minute and 16-minute mark. Following Klotz’s second goal and a 3-0 lead for the Icecats, Churchill head coach Stephen London pulled starting goalie sophomore MacAllister Glazer for junior Cameron Shure, marking the second time in a row a head coach has had to pull the starting goalie against the potent Icecat offense.

On WJ’s side of the ice, freshman goalie Isaac Russ remained solid in his second start in five days, posting a .941 save percentage and making 32 saves. The Bulldogs outshot the Icecats 34-25, including 13-7 in the final period to no avail.

The defense also heavily contributed to the win, keeping the Bulldogs off the scoresheet in their worst game offensively all season. Besides being their first loss this season, the game was the first time the Bulldogs did not score at least five goals in a game. The team also killed five of six Churchill power plays.

“We blocked shots, tried to control the puck as much as possible, and watched all the players in the free space where a [Churchill] player could skate,” freshman Ruslan Titov said. Titov skated on the first penalty kill unit along with Klotz and defensemen junior Patrick Murphy and senior Jon Corwin.

The Bulldog’s two goals of the game both came in the second period as senior Zachary Silver scored shorthanded six and a half minutes and senior Joshua Wong drove one in on the Churchill power play 11 minutes in. Klotz responded by completing a hat trick with a goal just before the 13-minute mark.

Klotz injured his dominant shoulder on Nov. 18 by separating the acromioclavicular (AC) joint and could not move his shoulder for multiple days. Although he narrowly avoided having to get surgery, Klotz did around two hours of physical therapy every day and missed three games. The injury will still not fully heal until around February; however, he was cleared to play hockey on Monday, allowing for his return on Wednesday.

Klotz completed his four-goal outing with a goal with seven minutes left in regulation. Klotz is now tied for most points on the team with sophomore Henry Horwell, with 13 each. Klotz is also tied for most goals with senior Adam Pyott, with the two of them tied at eight a piece. However, Klotz has only played five games this season, compared to the eight and nine that Horwell and Pyott have played, respectively.

“It was an awesome feeling. I had family and friends in the crowd so it was good in front of them. Also it just felt great to be back and playing because this was the longest break I’d ever taken,” Klotz said.

The win improved the team to 6-2-1, which puts the team third in the conference, behind Churchill (8-1-1) and Wootton (7-2-0). The next threat to the Icecats’ now three-game win streak will be the Whitman Vikings, who will face off with the Cats on Friday, Jan. 5 at Rockville Ice Arena. The Icecats lost their matchup with Whitman earlier this season in one of their worst offensive showings of the season, scoring only one goal and losing 5-1.

“I think our team has finally bought into Coach Jared’s message and is starting to play as a team … we also fought through some adversity when we struggled with some bad teams and I think the leaders stepped up and helped right the ship. The team is buzzing at the best time possible,” Klotz said.