Morrow leads Hitmen to victories
Wayne, NJ - In one of the most anticipated league series of the year the Boston Jr Bruins traveled south to take on the league leading Jersey Hitmen at the Ice Vault. The series pit the Jr Bruins, who started the weekend in second place in the northern division, and the southern leading Jersey Hitmen for a two game set.
In game one the Hitmen came out flying as just 1:47 into the game rookie defenseman, Nick Jones, snuck in from the point and received a nifty pass from Ansel Ivens-Anderson, then beat Bruins goalie Russ Stein with an amazing deke, to put the Hitmen up 1-0 and they would not look back. As the line of Ryan Craig, Kevin Czepiel and Jeremy Langlois would notch two goals before the end of the first, the first at 12:46 on the powerplay, and the second at 18:12 shorthanded, to put the Hitmen up, 3-0. Both goals were scored by Hitmen co-captain, Craig, and assisted by Czepiel and Langlois.
The second period took on a bit of a different feel as special teams took over and the Hitmen once again were on the positive side of the equation. At 12:46, Hitmen co-captain would not be outdone by his teammate Ryan Craig, as he would score his first of two on the powerplay with assists going to Brendan Jamison and Garet Chumley. The Frederick goal would be all the scoring in the second stanza as the Hitmen would extend their lead to 4-0, but Frederick was not done. At the 6:54 mark of the third, Frederick would tally his second of the game and 12th of the season even strength with assists going to Chumley and Colin Markison, and the Hitmen would go up 5-0. It seemed as if the Hitmen would be on cruise control until the 11:19 mark of the third, when on the 5 on 3 man advantage, the Bruins would break Jon Morrow's shut out hopes with a powerplay marker from Justin Mansfield and the Bruins would slice into the Hitmen's lead, 5-1, but the scoring was not over. Just 3 minutes after Mansfield's goal the Hitmen would strike back as 6'6'' defenseman, Mike Slowikowski would snap a wrist shot top shelf to put the Bruins away, and secure the Hitmen win, 6-1.
In the Saturday victory the Hitmen got multiple point games from five players, and more importantly, Jon Morrow broke the curse of the Jr Bruins as he got his first win against the Bruins in four attempts.
On Sunday, the Hitmen and Bruins once again would face off in the rubber game of their three game season series with both teams hungry for two points. Game two, from the drop of the puck, took on a different personality for both sides, as unlike game one, the Hitmen's advances were thwarted as the Bruins did a great job of defending in their own zone. With the first period ending in a 0-0 deadlock, both teams headed into the locker room looking to solve the other teams goaltenders.
The start of period two saw the home team re-energized and back on their game as 4 minutes into the second Ryan Craig would light the lamp for the 3rd time on the weekend. Craig's goal would be quickly followed by Ansel Ivens-Anderson's 16th of the season and the Hitmen looked to be on their way to another home victory, but it was not going to be that easy. With 1:58 left in the period, after a Trachsel-Moscatel fisticuff, the Hitmen would find themselves on a penalty kill, and the Jr Bruins would make the most of it. As with just one second remaining, Nick Foy, would beat Jon Morrow to cut the Hitmen lead in half, 2-1, heading into the third period.
With momentum on their side, the Bruins would turn a 2-0 game into a 2-2 deadlock just 1:58 in the third period as Joe Pendendza would score on a breakaway to even the game. This goal seemed to ignite the Hitmen as they began to pepper the Bruins goaltender, Stein, until Nick Geraci would break through at the 11:47 mark for his 3rd game winning goal of the season. The Hitmen would put the cherry on top as Jeremy Langlois would notch his 17th of the year into the empty net to put the game in the books, 4-2.
"This was a huge weekend for us," commented coach Harris. "The Jr Bruins have a great team and they always play us tough. I know they will be there in the end, so gaining these four points really helps out with league tie breakers." He went on to say, "I really liked how the boys competed on the weekend, and was very impressed by the play of Jon Morrow. This was a big weekend for our club."
On Tuesday, the Hitmen packed up and headed across state lines into New York to face off with the Apple Core, and behind four point nights from Ryan Craig (4 assists), Kevin Czepiel (2 goals, 2 assists) and Jeremey Langlois (2 goals, 2 assists), the Hitmen cruised to a 7-3 victory. In the win, Jon Morrow recorded his league leading 17th win and Ansel Ivens-Anderson continued his boiling hot scoring streak.