HARTLAND — Most people would be happy with a 9-3 win in their season opener.
But, for Randy Montrose, the journey is as important as the result, and his team’s bumpy ride didn’t please him at all.
“The first period was really, really, really bad,” he said after the Grand Ledge-Fowlerville team beat Fenton-Linden 9-3 at the Hartland Sports Center. GLF led after the first period, 3-1. “The second period, I thought we cleaned up our passing a little bit, and the third period, we just rolled line. We’re trying to teach on the bench. We gave up a goal late in the game on a faceoff that was botches, but that happens. It’s about learning.”
Montrose is in his second season coaching GLF, which includes nephews Nico and Christian Montrose. Randy Montrose’s son, Mike, is an assistant coach.
The coach’s exacting approach, Nico Montrose says, includes his nephews.
“It’s rough at times,” he said. “He’s a little hard. There’s no family relation when we’re on the ice.”
The family approach works better in the locker room, despite the 45-mile distance between the schools. The roster is almost evenly comprised of players from both schools.
“We’re buds,” Nico Montrose said. “We have a groupchat going. We hang out together. We take turns driving to each other’s schools.”
GLF was playing without Cameron Daniels, who was out with an injury. But Robert Dalessandro scored four goals, including the first two, and GLF never trailed. The team led 8-1 in the third period before Fenton-Linden, known as the Metro League Griffins, scored a pair of goals late. Nico Montrose had four assists.
“I could tell they were a little nervous coming out here,” Randy Montrose said. “I don’t know why. We talked about each game talking baout what we did right and what we did wrong and developing from it, to do better than we did last year and be better when it comes down to February.”
And, while finding plenty to correct, Montrose has seen progress in his team.
“If we start to move the puck like we’re capable of, we’ll be OK,” he said. “It’s still a young team and a young program that’s developing, so we’ll take it one game at a time.”
It’s the only game GLF will play in Livingston County this season.
As for the opener, “it was all right,” Nico Montrose said. “It was the first step on a long journey. We have a lot to work on. It wasn’t really what we hoped for, but it’s a win. That’s all you can ask for.”
