RSS 2.0 FeedThursday, December 15, 2011, Bellmore Life
Bulldogs back in win column
CHSD Bulldogs win two to come above .500.
County Legislator Dave Denenberg was at the latest Bulldogs home game to present them a Certificate of Appreciation for their second-place finish in last season's final.
Photo by Eric Homberger
by Eric Homburger
The Bellmore-Merrick Bulldogs got back into the win column with an 8-4 win over Great Neck and a 15-3 win over Garden City.
The win over Great Neck was a big one for the Bulldogs, as it pulled them out of a two-game skid. It was a hard-fought game, but the Bulldogs prevailed, pocketing eight goals in the victory.
Following the Great Neck game, the Bulldogs played host to the Garden City Wings at Newbridge Road rink.
Before the game, county Legislator Dave Denenberg came to the rink to celebrate the raising of last year’s Bulldogs banner with the team. Players from last year’s team also came back to watch their banner rise to the rafters.
Following the ceremony, the Bulldogs and the Wings took to the ice in what was billed as a close game. The Bulldogs took quick possession of the puck right at the faceoff, and began to take control.
They wasted little time getting on the board, as Nick Abbene scored his first of four goals, less than four minutes into the game.
As the first period progressed, the game slowed a bit, while the hitting picked up. Both teams played solid defensive hockey for much of the first, but that didn’t last.
With 5:37 remaining in the first, Nick Abbene notched his second of the game, a shorthanded game, giving the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. Just 11 seconds later, Joe Mark took a nice feed from Dan Smith and took a wicked wrist shot, beating the opposing goalie blocker side, top shelf, also a shorthanded goal.
Under one minute later, Joe returned the favor, setting Dan up for a goal of his own, making the score 4-0. As Assistant Coach Lee Mattes said, “[The] boys came to play tonight. [We] set the tone right away, and brought the play to them.”
The Bulldogs finished off the first period with another goal, making it 5-0 after one. The goal was scored by Allen West and assisted by Nick.
Not much changed in the second, as the Bulldogs skated up and down the ice, completely dominating the game. With a little more than three minutes played in the second, Nick finished off his hat trick with a hard wrist shot that flew by the opposing goalie.
In the middle of the second, Garden City found the net, putting one past goalie Jacob Smart. With the score 6-1 in favor of Bellmore-Merrick, coach Patten decided to replace Smart with back-up Matt Waldmann. Bulldogs assistant coach Lee Mattes said they switched goalies to “give [some playing] time to the other goalies.”
Ten seconds after the Wings found the netting, the Bulldogs fired back, answering with yet another goal. This time it was Dan Husle who got the goal, giving the Bulldogs a 7-1 lead.
Just as in the first, the Bulldogs ended the period with a bang as Bosenberg scored the team’s eighth goal of the game.
The third period was also was filled with Bulldogs goals, and they didn’t take much time doing so. Twenty-one seconds into the final frame, JJ Santagata blasted a slap shot into the back of the net. Within seconds, Joe Mark scored his second of the game, giving the Bulldogs a substantial nine-goal lead.
Two minutes after Bulldogs ambush, Chris Sharkey scored his first goal of the season, making the score 11-1. This goal was also Sharkey’s first-ever goal in an ice hockey game.
Hulse and Abbene continued the beating, each scoring another goal, before the mid-way point in the third.
Shortly after, the Wings found the net twice, cutting the Bulldogs lead from 12 to 10. The Bulldogs finished off the game with another two goals from Smith and Lloyd, giving the Bellmore-Merrick Bulldogs a 15-3 victory.
The next game is Tuesday, January 3. It is a 7:30 p.m game, at Bethpage, where the Bulldogs will take on Massapequa for the second time this year.
