Boys survive another big scare in Polson

By DAVID ERICKSON / Whitefish Pilot

It was another nerve-wracker for the undefeated Whitefish boys on Friday, as Polson took them to the wire. German exchange student Felix Hermsdorf finally put the 'Dogs ahead, getting the go-ahead goal in the 71st minute to give the Bulldogs a 3-2 Northwestern A victory.

After taking an early 2-0 lead, Whitefish allowed Polson to roar back in the second half and tie the game at 2-2. Hermsdorf's goal saved the undefeated streak for the 'Dogs, but head coach O'Brien Byrd was concerned by what he saw.

"We showed some mental weakness that needs to be sorted out," he said. "We basically just fell apart for the second time this year. The first time was against Billings Central. We have our first playoff game less than two weeks away, so it was a little concerning for that to happen now. We showed the mental errors and the lack of concentration that we showed in the previous game against Libby."

The Bulldogs were missing their center defender and co-captain Jake Danczyk to injury, but Byrd said he wouldn't use that as an excuse.

"It's a team of 19 guys, so that's not an excuse that I'm going to be able to accept," he said. "We're going to work in practice this week on keeping mental focus when you're tired and frustrated. That's this week's story line. We have two monster games coming up this week against our rivals, Columbia Falls, and what I feel is a strong contender for the state championship in Libby. There's been a lot of talk about our undefeated streak, but if we don't get our act together and try to get another state championship, it's going to be forgotten."

The Bulldogs out shot the Pirates 25-18. The game was physical — 25 fouls were called. Travis Adams took an assist from Hermsdorf in the 11th minute to start the scoring.

Hermsdorf notched another goal in the 35th minute to give his team a 2-0 lead, but Keio Salmonson, of Polson, got a goal a minute later to get his team on the board.

Polson's Trever Moll tied up the game in the 55th minute. Hermsdorf then took the ball down the field and scored to give his team the victory with 10 minutes remaining, but it was a scare for the Bulldogs.

"As a coach, I'm happy we won," Byrd said. "But we're going to struggle in the playoffs if we play that. I'm partially to blame for Friday's sloppy game. A couple adjustments are going to be made. I'm confident that the guys can rally and react to adversity. We're just going to take it one game at a time, but they should be a couple huge games."

The boys host Columbia Falls at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday (tomorrow), then they host Libby at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Whitefish 2 1 - 3

Polson 1 1 - 2

Whitefish - Travis Adams (Felix Hermsdorf), 11:00; Hermsdorf, 34:00; Hermsdorf, 71:00

Polson - Keio Salmonson (Ben Messer), 35:00; Trever Moll (Salmonson), 55:00

Shots on goal - Whitefish 25, Polson 18

Corner kicks - Whitefish 5, Polson 6

Goalie saves - Whitefish 9 (Joe Galbraith), Polson 13 (Will Wallace)

Fouls - Whitefish 14, Polson 11

Cards — Whitefish 1 yellow