After going two weeks without playing a game, the Reeths-Puffer hockey team showed a bit of rust in a 4-2 road loss to Holland West Ottawa on Wednesday.
The Rockets gave up a short-handed goal in the first period and trailed 1-0 heading into the second.
Neither team scored in the ugly second period, which was marred by seven penalties called against the two teams.
Tyler Cuti scored an unassisted power play goal for the Rockets 1:15 into the third period, tying the score 1-1.
Tyler Cuti
West Ottawa retook the lead with a goal just 51 seconds later, then R-P’s Buckey Aney scored about 2 ½ minutes after that to tie the score again.
The Panthers scored the last two goals down the stretch to seal up the victory.
The game was marred by 18 penalties, which impacted the offensive flow, according to R-P Coach Dustin Langlois. The lack of live action since the season opener two weeks ago also played a role, he said.
Buckey Aney
“We only have one game under our belt and that was two weeks ago,” Langlois said. “With the holiday, too, it was hard to keep the guys on the ice and have any consistency. We also have a handful of banged up guys.
"But we learned a lot about ourselves tonight and we are getting back to work tomorrow to prepare for this weekend.”
Reeths-Puffer, now 1-1 on the season, will host Plymouth Salem on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Trinity Health Arena, before traveling to play Hudsonville on Saturday afternoon.
