Hornets Top Taconic on Senior Night

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The first time the McCann Tech hockey team hosted Taconic, the Thunder overcame a 3-1 deficit before the Hornets pulled out a 6-5 win in overtime.

 

In Round 2, the Hornets left no doubt.

 

Hayden Bona scored twice, and Mason Rondeau had a goal and three assists Saturday night as McCann Tech earned an 8-2 win over its county rival at the Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial Rink.

 

In the teams’ second of three meetings this winter, McCann Tech built a 5-0 lead by the 19-minute mark and never looked back, winning its third straight and improving to 8-3.

 

Dallas Ritcher, who scored the game’s first goal and later assisted on Kaleb Munson’s goal for his 100th career point, said that the Hornets did think about the way they let Taconic back in the game repeatedly back on Dec. 27.

 

“We all thought about it last time, how it was ugly,” Ritcher said. “But, you know, we bounce back, we fought, we’ve been practicing every day, working. And this is what we practice for:  to win, to play hard and to be there for each other.”

 

Ben Harris made 16 saves to earn the win in goal for McCann Tech, which also got goals from Nolan Booth, Everett Bayliss and Henry Easton

 

Another characteristic of the first McCann Tech-Taconic game: In that contest, Booth and Bayliss each had a hat trick.

 

This time around, seven different Hornets lit the lamp, which shows just how much more dangerous McCann Tech has become as the season has progressed.

 

“Our green line scored four goals tonight, so it’s not coming just from the blue line, which is fabulous to see,” McCann Tech coach Matthew Parise said. “There’s no dip in skill [when the second line hits the ice], it’s just getting the continuity together.

 

“The other three [Bayliss, Booth and Ritcher] played together most of the summer, and they … know each other very well. And the other three were learning each other more, and you can see it. They’re starting to build some chemistry. They’re starting to get some confidence.

 

“And it’s awesome to see. They’re good kids, and they’re all working really hard.”

 

Ritcher, who came into the game with 98 career points, looked to be in prime position for No. 99 at about the 6-minute mark with the puck on his stick in the crease and what appeared to be a direct line behind a drawn out Joseph Schneider (35 saves). Ritcher misfired on that opportunity, but did not let it get into his head.

 

Thirty seconds later, he took a pass from Gabe Lescarbeau (three assists) just inside his own defensive zone and skated in on a breakaway before burying a shot in the net to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead.

 

Less than a minute later, Easton doubled that margin, and Bona made it three goals in 1 minute, 2 seconds of playing time to put McCann up, 3-0, after the first period.

 

Rondeau, like Ritcher, one of six seniors honored on Senior Night, did the honors in the third minute of the second period, putting home the rebound of a shot by Easton to make it 4-0. And Booth scored on another rebound – this time off a Lescarbeau shot – to give the Hornets a five-goal cushion.

 

Taconic (4-7) rallied with back-to-back goals from Johnny Ireland on the power play and Philip Enoch to get within three with 1:38 left in the second.

 

But Bayliss skated in from deep on the left wing and scored with 16 seconds left in the period, and Munson and Bona scored early in the third to put the game out of reach and send the contest to running time.

 

McCann Tech is home for its next three games, Wednesday against Chicopee and the following week against Amherst and Agawam. The Thunder and Hornets will meet for the third time this year – and the second of two Wright Division contests - on Feb. 7 at the Boys and Girls Club.

 

The Hornets went into Saturday's game ranked 20th in the latest statewide MIAA in-season power rankings. That’s welcome news for a program that has yet to make the 32-team Division State Tournament.

 

“The seniors on this team just elevate the whole group,” Parise said as those seniors and their families continued to snap photos on the Memorial Rink ice long after the final buzzer. “They’re playing so well, all of them. … It’s nice to see the senior get some success.”