The Reeths-Puffer hockey team has found its groove again.
Last week the Rockets hit a bump, falling to West Ottawa in an upset loss. That continued a mini-slump, with the team going 1-3-1 after a 5-1 start.
But R-P has sprung back to life since then, winning three straight games, including an impressive 7-2 victory over Forest Hills Central on Monday night at Trinity Health Arena.
Hayden Taylor was the hero for the Rockets, scoring a three-goal hat trick, which gave him five goals in the last three games.
The victory came on the heels of two wins over the weekend at the Stan Konrad Memorial Showcase at Lakeshore Sports Centre. The Rockets defeated Birmingham Groves and Freeland on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Hayden Taylor, who scored three goals on Monday.
Reeths-Puffer is now 9-4-1 on the season.
"It showed that Wednesday's loss didn't sit well with the boys and we were ready to buy into our plan," said R-P head coach Dustin Langlois. "Talent will only get us so far. We are realizing we need to lean on everyone in the locker room. It's amazing to see everyone just do their jobs!"
Taylor put his offensive skills on full display on Monday, scoring two goals in the first period to give the Rockets a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period.
Jordan Benkert added a goal in the second period, then Taylor struck again, and R-P led 4-0 after two.
Tyler Cuti scored a third period goal, then Ayden Hartzell found the mark twice, putting the Rockets up 7-0. Forest Hills Central had two late goals.
Connor Anderson
Connor Anderson and Trenton Hanks each had two assists for Reeths-Puffer while Hartzell, Kaeden Benner and Eli Cuti each had one.
Huck VanDyke was the winning goalie.
"Three in a row feels good!" Coach Langlois said. "FHC had a short bench due to sickness, but we still got the job done. The boys are coming together at the right time, playing as a team and handling their roles appropriately. Our schedule is going to be tough coming up, but if we do what we are supposed to and stick to our roles, we should be able to keep stacking up the wins."
Friday's 4-2 victory over Birmingham Groves got the Rockets back to their winning ways.
Groves took a 1-0 lead in the first period, but a pair of goals by Anderson and single tallies by Benner and Tyler Cuti put the victory on ice.
Fritz, Thomas Grasman and Eli Cuti had assists in the victory. VanDyke got the win in net.
R-P kept it rolling on Saturday with a 7-4 win over Freeland.
Tyler Tindall
Freeland took the lead with the first goal of the game, then Taylor and Hartzell responded with goals to give the Rockets a 2-1 edge after one period.
Freeland tied the score 2-2 in the second period, then Tindall and Taylor scored to make it 4-2. Freeland scored again, then R-P's Leo Kretschmar scored to put the Rockets up 5-4 heading into the third period.
Tindall and Hartzell scored down the stretch to compete the victory.
Fritz had two assists for the Rockets while Tyler Cuti, Benner and Anderson each had one. Cason DeVowe was the winning goalie in his first varsity start.
The Rockets will host Jenison on Wednesday at Trinity Health Arena.