MUSKEGON – The Reeths-Puffer hockey team really needed a bounce-back game on Wednesday.
It’s not that the Rockets have been playing poorly. On the contrary, they’ve been winning a lot of games over the past few weeks.
But last Saturday they led Chippewa Valley 4-3 early in the third period, then gave up four unanswered goals and watched their four-game winning streak screech to a sudden and unexpected halt.
The Rockets were obviously determined to make up for that experience, and it showed on Wednesday, when they pounded East Kentwood 9-1 in an O-K Conference Fisher Division matchup at Muskegon’s Trinity Health Arena.
R-P's Hayden Taylor, who scored a hat trick for the second straight game. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The Rockets improved to 6-4-1 on the season and have now won five of their last six games.
“Any time you lose a game it stings, but we learn from our mistakes,” said R-P head coach Bill Zalba. “We didn’t lose that last game because we were the lesser team. We lost because we didn’t finish on our opportunities.
“Tonight it was great to get a bunch of guys who don’t always get a bunch of minutes into the game. It was good to gain some confidence and just rebound from what happened the last time out.”
The victory was extra special for R-P junior forward Hayden Taylor, who scored a three-goal hat trick on Saturday, only to see it go to waste when the game slipped away.
R-P's Connor Anderson races up the ice with the puck. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Taylor made up for it on Wednesday, once again scoring three goals, this time in a winning effort. He now has a team-leading 12 goals on the season after doubling his total in two games.
His performance pleased Coach Zalba, like it always does.
“Hayden is one of our leaders who we depend on every night to play at a high level,” the coach said. “I have coached him for a lot of years and he is one of my favorite players. He’s a laid-back kid with so much talent – and when he’s on, look out!”
The game was actually close for one period.
R-P's Thomas Grasman lets a shot fly. Photo/Jeremy Clark
East Kentwood struck first when Noah Ottaway scored just 4:36 into the contest.
Taylor evened up the score with his first goal of the night when he hammered home a rebound in front of the net a few minutes later.
R-P’s Connor Anderson scored the final goal of the period with 5:30 remaining, and the Rockets led 2-1 heading into the second.
“We were creating a ton of opportunities,” Zalba about the first period, when his team had an 18-5 advantage in shots but failed to take full advantage. “We just weren’t finishing. Overall I was extremely happy with the effort we played with.”
R-P goalie Cason DeVowe makes a stop. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The Rockets took control in the second period with six goals.
Eli Cuti found the net twice for R-P while Taylor, Jordan Benkert, Sheldon Frederick and Blake Martin all scored once.
It was a great moment for Martin, a sophomore who scored his first varsity goal.
“I was just happy it went in,” he said. “It feels really good to get that first varsity goal, and hopefully there are more to come.”
Taylor watches to see if his shot gets past the goalie. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Zalba was happy to see the Rockets celebrate with Martin after his big goal.
“That was one of my favorite things to see,” the coach said. “This group is full of selfless guys and it was great to see Martin get that chance.”
The game ended on the eight-goal mercy rule about five minutes into the third period, when Taylor scored his third goal.
R-P outshot East Kentwood 38-6 on the night, with goalie Cason DeVowe getting the victory.
The Rockets will return to action on Saturday against Forest Hills Northern at Patterson Ice Arena.