Hornets Win Second Straight
AMHERST, Mass. -- Four different players lit the lamp, and five other players earned at least one assist on Saturday as the McCann Tech hockey team beat Amherst, 4-1.
Ben Harris stopped 21 shots after the Hornets gave up a goal in the first 12 seconds of the game as McCann Tech improved to 2-0 in the Wright Division and won its second game in fewer than 24 hours.
"i still don't think we're playing our best hockey yet, but we did play a back-to-back," said Matt Parise, whose team beat Agawam in West Springfield on Friday before jumping on a 12:30 p.m. bus Saturday afternoon.
"And I'm only skating 10 kids with a couple sprinkled in here or there. I'm leaning on 10 players."
Hayden Bona redirected Mason Rondeau's blast from the right wing to tie the game, 3 minutes, 31 seconds into the first period.
The Hurricanes got a chance to regain the lead a few minutes later when McCann Tech drew the game's first penalty. But the Hornets' PK unit did not allow a shot on goal in what would be one of just two power-play opportunities Amherst received in the game.
The Hurricanes took the lead early in the second when Gabe Lescarbeau scored with an assist from Everett Bayliss to make it 2-1.
"I honestly don't think there's a line that can keep up with my first with Dallax [Ritcher], Nolan [Booth] and Everett," Parise said. "They fly. They're to the net. They're playing together."
That line produced an insurance goal in the third period when Bayliss fed Ritcher from behind the goal, and Ritcher drilled a one-timer from the slot to make it 3-1. Booth also was credited with an assist on that goal.
By that time, the Hornets were dominating possession and chances, but they got a little breathing room on the scoreboard for the final three minutes after Henry Easton scored with assists from Rondeau and Finn Noyes to make it a three-goal margin.
Jason Kim made 34 saves for Amherst, including 15 in the third period alone.
At the other end, Harris settled down after an inauspicious start to keep his sheet clean the rest of the way.
"I just said to him, 'You could have crumbled, right? The next three shots could have gone in,' " Parise said. "And he didn't. He pulled himself together, and he was solid the rest of the game.
"It was just a good win."
McCann Tech (2-2) gets a few days off to enjoy the holiday and prepare for its next game, Saturday night's home opener against Taconic at the Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial Rink.