On a night where the two local high school hockey teams tested their skills against one another, it was a freshman that made the difference.
Brandon forward Brandon Newman notched a hat trick as the host Blackhawks defeated Goodrich 6-3 on Dec. 6 at the Polar Palace in Lapeer, improving their season mark to 3-0.
Newman opened the game’s scoring at 7:27 of the first period on assists from junior forward Mike Ross and freshman forward Stephen Tallman, putting the Blackhawks up 1-0. The Blackhawks added another goal at 11:43 of the first, as Ross scored on assists from Newman and senior forward Joel Pappas.
The Martians scored their first goal of the contest at 13:52 of the period, as senior defenseman Scott Hollingsworth lit the lamp with an assist from senior forward Lance Keene, trimming the Blackhawks? lead to 2-1.
However, Newman struck again for the Blackhawks just before the end of the first period, as he scored on an assist from Ross to put Brandon up 3-1 at the end of the period.
Goodrich again pulled to within one in the second period, as junior forward Brian Van Kuren connected on assists from Keene and senior forward Ryan Mortimer at 2:21 of the second, narrowing the Blackhawks? lead to 3-2.
Newman once again answered a Goodrich goal with one of his own, this time at 3:33 of the second on an assist from Pappas to put Brandon up 4-2. The Blackhawks would add to their lead about 1-1/2 minutes later, as Tallman scored on an assist from junior forward Mike Cybulski at 4:50 of the second, giving Brandon a 5-2 lead at the end of the second.
Both teams added another goal in the third period. Mortimer scored for Goodrich at 7:25 of the third, while sophomore forward Scott Thurman scored for Brandon at 12:09 of the third on an assist from sophomore forward Troy Nuccio.
Brandon junior goalie David Hughes made 12-of-15 saves (80 percent), while Goodrich sophomore netminder Brad Smith stopped 17-of-23 shots (74 percent).
One day earlier, it was Cybulski’s turn to shine, as the junior forward scored four goals in the Blackhawks? 8-3 win against Lapeer East.
Things did not start off so well for the Blackhawks, as Lapeer East scored two goals within nine seconds of each other to take a 2-0 lead early in the first period. East’s John Estelle scored both goals, the first on assists from Rory McDonald and Nick Zehr at 1:45 of the first, and the second on assists from McDonald and Mike McCarter at 1:54 of the period.
From there, it was all Brandon, as the Blackhawks scored three goals to take a 3-2 lead at the end of the first. Cybulski scored on an assist from junior Kyle Jackson at 7:31; Newman scored on assists from Tallman and Jackson at 10:11; and Cybulski scored on assists from Pappas and Jackson at 10:49.
The Blackhawks struck for two more goals in the second period. Pappas lit the lamp on an assist from Ross at 2:07 of the period, and Cybulski connected on assists from Tallman and junior defenseman Chris Nuccio at 11:26, putting the Blackhawks up 5-2.
East scored their final goal of the game at 12:58 of the second, as Jordan Ojeda scored on assists from Kraig Hizelberger and Steve Glasgow to trim the Brandon lead to 5-3.
However, Brandon blew open the contest with three goals in the latter part of the third period. Ross scored on assists from Pappas and Chris Nuccio at 11:32; Jackson scored a shorthanded goal on an assist from Tallman at 11:45; and Cybulski tallied his fourth goal of the game, converting a shorthanded chance on assists from Ross and senior Brian Quarrella at 14:15.
Hughes made 5-of-8 saves (62.5 percent) for Brandon, while East goalie Ali Brajdich stopped 15-of-23 shots (65.2 percent).
The Blackhawks return to action Dec. 17 when they take on Oxford.