A shutout just when it mattered most and just enough payback carried the Park City Miners Red to a state hockey championship over the team that denied them a year ago.
Park City defeated Brighton Navy 1-0 in the finals Wednesday night, a rematch of last week’s semifinals, which the Miners Red won 4-1. The tournament was double-elimination.
Junior Jonsey Reese’s game-winning goal came with 1:46 left in the second period. He found the back of the Brighton Navy net on a power play redirection, the first of two power plays for the Miners Red. They killed five penalties of their own.
“Wasn’t able to get the win last year,” Reese said. “It just meant a lot. … Good play by Connor, saw me backdoor, just quick tap in, goal.”
Junior goalie Alex Harhi shut out Brighton to cap off his first season starting for Park City.
While inexperienced, Harhi said he was confident because of the hard work he’s put in. He deflected multiple one-on-one breakaway opportunities, for his fifth solo shutout of the season.
Harhi stopped 12 shots in total, six in the first period. Park City took 33 shots during the game, 16 coming in the second period and 11 in the third.
“I’ve come to expect it. I just tried to work my butt off, tried to play my best, and it ended up a shutout,” he said. How did he handle all the breakaways? “Just not thinking, just doing what I do and having a good D that’s backchecking.”
The team plans on celebrating the title in style, although no plans had been set yet Wednesday night. This is Park City’s first state title since they won the last of a three peat in 2022.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Harhi about celebrating. “It’s going to get a little rowdy. … Some showers (are needed first).”
With the title also comes a shot at playing in nationals March 20-24 in West Chester, Pa.
Head Coach Mike Adamek said he’ll finally go buy some practice ice, having not wanted to get ahead of himself before the trophies were in his team’s hands.
Adamek said many of the players still have to finish up their individual club seasons, as well. Once they do so, he plans on practicing them hard for two to three days a week before they hop on a plane to Pennsylvania.
Adamek said the best part of Wednesday was his players having this moment.
“Seeing a group of kids that I really care about, that I’ve really come to love the last couple of years, celebrate with their peers (was best),” said Adamek. “That’s pretty much all it’s about. … Giving them these experiences is literally why I do this. It was really fulfilling to see our team celebrating with the student section at the state championship game.”
That student and parent section showed up in big numbers, and they helped the Miners Red through the game’s toughest moments, Adamek said, remembering how they roared during the team’s game-ending penalty kill.
Memorable moments from the student section included the throwing of an octopus and a fish onto the ice following Reese’s game-winning goal, and their celebration with the players following the final buzzer. As that buzzer went off, the players rushed toward the students, climbing on top of each other to reach their arms.
“Ive never seen the octopus thrown on the ice for a high school game,” Adamek said. “I thought it was pretty awesome. That’s obviously a longtime hockey tradition, started with the Red Wings, but I’m glad to see our Park City students are hyped. We rode the momentum that the students gave us, and it helped us at the end for sure. … I’ve lived in a lot of towns in this country and I’ll never leave Park City for those reasons. We get support, everyone supports each other, it’s a cool little town, that still feels like a little town even though it’s growing, and it’s really awesome to be a part of.”
Adamek also is the director of hockey operations for the Park City Ice Miners youth hockey organization. He credits much of the high school team’s success with the youth program’s development and player dedication.
Throughout this season, even at road games, Ice Miners players could be seen dressed in their gear, supporting the Miners Red.
“The youth hockey program in Park City is flourishing,” said Adamek. “I think our high school team shows that, right. Four (titles) out of the last five years. … It’s not about the leaders of the group. It’s about the actual players in the organization. They put in the hard work, they show up day-in and day-out to practice and this is what happens when you do all that. I’m very proud of being the hockey director of Park City and being the high school coach.”
For more information, see the USA Hockey website: https://nationals.usahockey.com/2024. That event will be held at West Chester’s Ice Line Arena, which is home to four NHL-size rinks, 500-person seating capacities and a concession area.
For more information about the Ice Miners organization, see their website: https://www.pciceminers.org/. They have teams from U6 all the way up to U16.
