Brandon’s varsity hockey team is finding the going tough outside the Flint Metro League.
Swartz Creek jumped to a 4-0 start on their way to an 8-3 win against the visiting Blackhawks in a Jan. 21 game. Brandon is now 8-5 overall, and remains on top of the Flint Metro at 6-0 in the league.
The Dragons? Trevor Cope notched a hat trick in the game, and scored the first two goals of the game. Max Ruegsegger and Jordan Phillips added goals for the Dragons in the first period to take a 4-0 lead with 6:46 left in the period.
Brandon’s Blake McLellan broke the ice for the Blackhawks, scoring an unassisted goal with 1:56 left in the first period. The period ended with Swartz Creek ahead 4-1.
In the second period, Brandon’s Troy Nuccio scored on an assist from Craig Skidmore with 5:45 left to trip the Dragons? lead to 4-2. However, Swartz Creek’s Damian Keehn followed with a goal of his own 39 seconds later, and Cope then completed his hat trick with 1:02 left in the period, as the Dragons took a 6-2 lead at the end of the second.
Swartz Creek’s Bryan Setley and Kyle Lane scored goals in the third period, with a goal by Brandon’s Nick Foren in between the two Swartz Creek goals. Kyle Doan and Matt Cinader assisted on Foren’s goal.
The Dragons outshot the Blackhawks in the game 37-28.
In Brandon’s Jan. 18 game against visiting Lake Orion, the Dragons overcame a 2-1 deficit at the end of the first period, scoring four goals in the second period and two in the third on their way to a 7-2 win at the Polar Palace in Lapeer. John Costigan scored three goals and Brad Berschbach added two for Lake Orion.
Chuck Robuck put the Dragons on the scoreboard first with 7:32 left in the first period. Doan then answered for the Blackhawks, scoring an unassisted goal with 2:51 left in the period.
About two minutes later, Cinader put the Blackhawks up 2-1, scoring on an assist from Craig Skidmore with 55.22 seconds left in the period.
From that point on, it was all Dragons. Costigan and Berschbach each scored twice in the second period as Lake Orion grabbed a 5-2 lead at the end of the second.
In the third, Lake Orion’s Dan Randazzo scored with 10:06 left to put the Dragons up 6-2, chasing Brandon’s starting goalie, Glen Kendrick, from the net.
Jeff Hammond replaced Kendrick in net and gave up one final Lake Orion goal, this time to Costigan with 7:56 left in the third.