HOCKEY: 8 Hornets Score as Saline Celebrates Senior Night

The Saline varsity hockey celebrated senior night with a 9-1 victory over Skyline. (Photo gallery link)

Eight Hornets scored in the contest. Defenseman Aidan Granica led the way with two goals and an assist. Griffin Clark scored a goal and had two assists.

Drew Helmer stopped 12 of 13 shots in goal for the win.

Saline improved to 8-4-1 and 5-1-1 in the SEC Red.

Seniors Avery Byron, Hayden Davis, Joe Raupp, Colton Cundiff, Tommy O'Toole, Jake Honan, Griffin Clark, Julian Downey and Nate Keller were honored during a brief ceremony before the contest at the Ice Cube.

Coach Kyle Zagata said he was proud of his senior leadership group.

"We've got five senior captains this year. Every senior leads in his own way. I'm really proud of them. It's been by committee and they've led this group from off-season workouts, summer camp and all that good stuff," Zagata said.

The nine-goal barrage was a nice change for a Hornet team that was blanked despite skating well against Chelsea Saturday. (Saline vs Chelsea Photo Gallery Link).  Coach Zagata talked about what Saline did so well during Monday's game.

"We wanted to beat them down low and use our strength below the hash marks and that's where a lot of the goals came from," Zagata said.

Saline's first goal game 6:40 into the game when Mateo Iadapolo, from the slot, took a pass from Joe Raupp and scored. 

Skyline, however, answered just 24 seconds later to tie the score. The Hornets controlled most of the play during the first, but weren't rewarded until the stanza's final minute, when Clark centered a pass into the slot that Raupp backhanded into an empty cage. Saline led 2-1.

In the second period, the Hornets exploded for three goals in three minutes to take control of the game.

Jake Honan scored from the slot to make it 3-1 3:09 into the game. Hayden Davis and Maxim Sorel assisted.

32 seconds later, Clark deflected Granica's point shot past the Skyline goalie to make it 4-1. 6:02 into the period Aidan Rumohr took a pass from Cundiff and burst past the defense for a breakaway. Rumohr waited for the goalie to go down and beat him upstairs. 

The Hornets continued pouring it on in the third period. Granica beat the goalie with a slapshot to make it 6-1. Davis and Giuseppe Giacalone assisted.

9:09 into the period, Giacalone spun around fired a shot from inside the left faceoff circle through a defenseman and past the goalie. Honan and Rumohr assisted.

Julian Downey scored a powerplay goal with slapshot from the right point with 2:24 left in regulation. Bryce Ronewicz and Sorel assisted.

The Hornets ended the game with Granica's second goal of the contest - a snapshot through a defenseman and goalie to end the game courtesy of the mercy rule.

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