MUSKEGON - Reeths-Puffer freshman Hayden Taylor certainly has a knack for dramatic goals.
He only has two this season, but they were both exciting game-winners that sent the fans home happy.
The first came in the opening game of the season back on Nov. 15, when the Rockets beat Grand Rapids Christian.
His latest heroics came on Wednesday night, when R-P built an early two-goal lead, let it slip away, then pulled together in the third period to beat Holland West Ottawa 4-3 in a non-conference matchup at Muskegon’s Trinity Health Arena.
R-P's Tyler Tindall (7) breaks toward the West Ottawa goal. Photo/Tyler Lirones
Taylor scored the decisive goal on a power play just over a minute into the third period, popping in a rebound after a teammate’s shot was blocked by the West Ottawa goalie.
“It was electric, just being there for my team,” said Taylor, who recently returned from an injury that kept him out of the lineup for a good part of the season. “I just crashed the net after Tyler Cuti took a shot, and I got the rebound.
“Our energy went down a bit in the second period, but we came back in the third and turned it back up.”
The Rockets’ victory was significant because it illustrated just how far they have come as a team over the past few months.
Back on Nov. 29, R-P lost 4-2 to West Ottawa in the second game of the season.
R-P's Connor Anderson, who scored the Rockets' first goal. Photo/Tyler Lirones
It was the beginning of the worst streak of their season, when they lost four of five games and left everyone wondering how competitive they would be.
But Wednesday’s victory was the sixth in a row for Reeths-Puffer and its ninth in the last 11 games.
R-P, now 14-7 on the season, is still in pursuit of a conference championship and seems to be peaking just in time for regionals in a few weeks.
“We put in a lot of new systems, and the guys didn’t grasp them right away, but now it’s a lot easier,” said R-P Coach Dustin Langlois, who is in his first season. “Now they know the game plan and they just go out and do it. I am very, very happy with how we’ve been playing.”
R-P's Jaxon Stone (13), who scored a breakaway shorthanded goal. Photo/Tyler Lirones
Langlois said the early-season loss to West Ottawa was not forgotten, and the Rockets relished the chance to get even.
“It stinks that we had to wait so long to do it, but this one has been on our calendar for a long time, and we’re happy to get the win," he said.
The game did not start out well for Reeths-Puffer.
West Ottawa’s Austin Helder opened the scoring just over two minutes into the game when his shot was initially stopped by R-P goalie Huck VanDyke, but then trickled into a corner of the net to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
R-P's Eli Cuti (17) battles along the boards for the puck. Photo/Tyler Lirones
The Rockets came roaring back a little over a minute later, however, when sophomore Connor Anderson’s shot from between the faceoff circles found the mark on a power play, tying the score 1-1.
R-P took a 2-1 lead with just under four minutes left in the first when West Ottawa had a power play. Jaxon Stone stole the puck in the Rocket zone and raced in alone for a shorthanded breakaway goal.
Reeths-Puffer took a 3-1 lead early in the second period when Croix Klint scored, and it looked like the game might turn into a rout.
But West Ottawa fought back, getting goals from HunterTurkstra and Jonah Gawlik to tie the score 3-3 with 9:06 left in the second period.
Stone works his way past a defender with the puck. Photo/Tyler Lirones
The Rockets had a long power play opportunity late in the second period, including a two-skater advantage for 50 seconds, but couldn’t find the net.
Taylor scored his game-winner just 2:08 into the third period, then the Rockets held on the rest of the way.
R-P skillfully killed off a West Ottawa power play midway through the final period, and VanDyke made some key saves down the stretch to seal the victory.
The Rockets outshot the Panthers 24-15.
