After losing to Marriotts Ridge, 4-3, in a preseason game back in late October, the Atholton ice hockey team knew that it had some work to do to get back to County Cup form.
But the Raiders also knew that they would be a much different team the next time they saw the Mustangs three months later in the Howard conference finale.
As it turned out, both teams came into Thursday afternoon's game at the Gardens Ice House in Laurel with matching 8-0 conference records. But the difference between the two teams, and the strides that Atholton had made since late October, were evident on the ice.
Junior Eric Pazulski scored less than 90 seconds after the opening puck dropped, and sophomore goalie Matthew Schaab made 14 saves, as Atholton (9-0 conference, 10-1 overall) shut out Marriotts Ridge (8-1, 10-2), 3-0, to claim the regular season title and a top seed in the upcoming Maryland Student Hockey League playoffs.
"This is our second consecutive season where, at the conference level, we're undefeated, so we're pretty happy about that," said Raiders coach Bud Michels, who led Atholton to an MSHL state title in 2012. "(Marriotts Ridge) is a phenomenal team. They're very challenging ... we controlled the whole game against one of the best teams in our conference if not the league."
Senior Jason Pazulski, who leads Atholton with 17 goals, said that the early strike by his younger brother was a tone setter.
"An early goal is key. It gives you momentum, it slows the other team down and makes them focus more on defense than offense," Jason Pazulski said. "This time we just went all in and tried to keep pressure on the puck the whole time, and it just worked out."
The Raiders added to their lead in each of the next two periods, on goals by sophomores Harsh Patel and AJ Zeller.
"We were out played and got into penalty trouble, then got away from our game plan," Marriotts Ridge coach Chip Sheehan said. "Hopefully we have another shot next week."
Next Tuesday, Atholton will play the winner of Glenelg (5-4) and Mt. Hebron (5-3-1) in a conference playoff game. The Mustangs will play the winner of River Hill (7-2) and Howard (4-4-1).
"My ultimate goal is always to win a Howard conference title, and everything after that is gravy," said Michels, whose team lost a non-conference game to powerhouse Winston Churchill, 8-0, in late November. "They were here to play, and they took advantage of us ... that was a wake up call for us."