Brandon’s varsity hockey team is making a strong bid to repeat as Flint Metro League champions.
The Blackhawks remained undefeated in league play with a 4-1 win against visiting Lapeer West in a Jan. 28 game at the Polar Palace in Lapeer. Brandon is now 9-5 overall and 7-0 in the league, while Lapeer West dropped to 4-4 in the league.
Lapeer East is in second place in the league behind the Blackhawks, with a 6-2-1 mark in league play.
Two first-period goals helped Brandon take control of the game early. Sean Doyle scored an unassisted goal with 12:33 remaining in the first, and Blake McLelland scored his fourth goal of the season on an assist from Chris Nelson.
Lapeer East cut the Brandon lead to 2-1 in the second period, as Jeremy Podgorski scored on an assist from Jake Adam.
However, the Blackhawks shut the door on the Eagles in the third period, as Matt Cinader scored his 15th goal of the season on an assist from Brandon goalie Jeff Hammond with 2:50 left in the game.
Nelson then scored his fourth goal of the year with 1:59 left in the game on an assist from Scott Thurman, putting the win in the books for Brandon.
Hammond stopped 28-of-29 Lapeer East shots (96.6 percent) in earning the win in goal for the Blackhawks. For the season, Hammond has a 2.31 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage.