Hawks edge Mounties in comeback thriller

By Jacob Marrocco
Posted 2/2/16

Mount Saint Charles goaltender Zachary Noke had allowed two goals on 130 shots all season, and in order to beat him, Hendricken had to match that on Friday night alone.

The Hawks trailed 1-0 in …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Hawks edge Mounties in comeback thriller

Posted

Mount Saint Charles goaltender Zachary Noke had allowed two goals on 130 shots all season, and in order to beat him, Hendricken had to match that on Friday night alone.

The Hawks trailed 1-0 in the first period, but scored a goal in the second and third periods to pull off the come-from-behind victory, 2-1. On both of Hendricken’s scores, Noke wasn’t beaten point blank. Both were results of being in the right place at the right time to redirect a shot or put back a loose puck.

“Early on we left a few laying around, and I think ultimately we just got a couple sticks there and were fortunate to get a couple by him,” Hendricken head coach Jim Creamer said. “It’s good to get a couple.”

After managing just four shots-on-goal in the first period, the Hawks unloaded a barrage in the second. Hendricken (7-2-1-1) registered 12 shots in Noke’s direction during the period, including two attempts 30 seconds in that were sent away.

Hendricken goaltender Wyatt Alberigo did his part to keep Hendricken in the game, allowing just one goal on 21 shots. He was forced to make a series of athletic saves when Hendricken went on the penalty kill five minutes into the second.

“I think both goaltenders all year long have done a great job,” Creamer said. “I thought [Wyatt] fought the puck early on a little bit. He battled and he stayed in there and he did a good job.”

Reilly Miller had a couple of chances throughout the period, but Noke wasn’t to be beaten straight on. Brandon Waterman tried to catch Noke on the right post, but the netminder again turned the puck away.

The Hawks finally got the equalizer with 1:07 to go in the second after a deflection found its way to forward Andrew Hopgood in front of the net. Before Noke could get his glove up, Hopgood found twine to level the score at 1.

“We weren’t getting the chances we wanted earlier,” Waterman said. “So we just kept our head up, kept fighting. We knew we were gonna get him eventually. Good thing it worked out for us at the right time tonight.”

Both sides battled to a stalemate for most of the third period until Hendricken made a push down the ice 6 1/2 minutes in. Pat Creamer skated up along the left post and put a shot on Noke, who made the save, but the puck trickled out of his sight. Miller alertly skated up and put the loose puck into the net to give the Hawks the 2-1 lead.

The penalty kill came through in the end for the Hawks, too, as a roughing penalty on Benjamin DeFelice with 6:38 to go would be neutralized. Hendricken had earlier killed a 5-minute major just 47 seconds into the game that resulted in defenseman Peter Krekorian getting sent off.

“It’s good and it’s bad,” Creamer said of the penalty kill. “It’s unfortunate we got to use some key guys on it quite a bit, and we’ve got to put 10 [Pat Creamer] back on D, so that sort of hurts us a little bit. I thought they did a great job.”

The Mounties didn’t help their attempts to tie in the final minutes when Bruno Balkcom picked up a roughing minor. Mount (6-1-0-1) played a man behind for most of the final three minutes, and the Hawks held on for the crucial 2-1 win.

The Hawks rebounded after allowing the Mounties to jump on top 1-0 late in the first period. James Belisle found Brian Simpson unmarked just a few feet from the net, and Simpson beat Alberigo over his left shoulder to open the scoring.

Alberigo wouldn’t be bested again, stopping all 15 shots he faced in the second and third combined.

Hendricken continued the successful weekend with a 4-0 victory over Cranston Co-op to hold on to its first-place spot in the Championship Division.

The Hawks will tangle with the Mounties again on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at the Bradford R. Boss Arena in Kingston. It will be the final matchup between the teams before the postseason. So far, Hendricken leads the season series, 2-1.

“We’ve played them three times, they’ve been three one-goal games,” Creamer said. “So I certainly expect nothing less going forward.”

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here