Behind 14 powerplay goals weekend sweep puts Hitmen in control of south
November 11, 2008
Wayne, NJ - With the Roy Jones, Jr - Joe Calzaghe fight slated for Saturday night at Madison Square Garden and the Bay State Breakers arriving in New Jersey for a two game set there were two heavyweight contests worth watching in the tri-state area this weekend. The first place Hitmen, riding an 8 game home winning streak, were flying high, whereas the Bay State Breakers were fresh off of a three game skid, and the Hitmen gave them no room to breathe.
On Saturday night the Hitmen started strong, right from the drop of the puck, and their persistence paid off. At 8:51 of the first, while on the powerplay, Jeremy Langlois potted his 14th of the season with assists going to Kevin Czepiel and Nick Jones. This goal would be the sole marker in the first period as the Hitmen outshot the Breakers, 21-9. Period two however would start a little differently as the Breakers would come out of the locker room looking to strike early and that they did at 16:56 they would knot the score at one as Adam Mitchell would light the lamp for the visitors. This goal seemed to ignite the home team as the Hitmen would go on the offense scoring twice in the second and once in the third to skate away with a 4-1 victory. The win would move the Hitmen five points ahead of the Breakers in the southern division standings due to goals from Will Frederick (GWG), Kevin Czepiel and Nick Geraci.
On Sunday the game would take on a different attitude and would be one for the record books, literally. In a game marred by 155 penalty minutes, the Hitmen who were only whistled for 48 PIM's, would make the most of their powerplay chances. In 16 powerplay opportunities the Hitmen lit the lamp for an EJHL record 11 powerplay goals and cruised to victory, 11-3. In the win there were 10 different Hitmen scorers, of these scorers 9 had multi-point games. The win also catapulted the Hitmen to first in the southern division 7 points clear of second place Bay State and South Shore. After the weekend we were able to catch up with Hitmen head coach, Toby Harris. He had this to say, "Our boys really played well this weekend. I was really proud of the way we competed and stood behind one another when things got tough on Sunday. Bay State is a big, strong team and they play really hard, so I was happy that we were tested and did not wilt under pressure, we actually went the other way and excelled." Harris went on to say, "obviously our special teams were once again amazing, Jonny morrow was great in net, and everyone chipped in in the weekend sweep. I am very happy with where we are at this point in the season."
The Hitmen travel to Springfield for a two game set against the NE Jr Falcons this upcoming weekend. Please visit www.pointstreak.com to follow the Hitmen and the EJHL action.