The Norwich Sea Captains started fast, sprinting out to a 3-0 lead after the first period, as they bested the Bay State Bobcats in North American 3 Hockey League action on Saturday evening, December 10 in Holyoke, MA. Tim Hayden scored twice and added an assist, Jack Kinahan scored twice and Brian Essing notched two helpers to pace the offense. Presley Patrin made nineteen saves to earn his second win of the season in goal for Norwich.
Kinahan got the Sea Captains on the board early as he took an Essing feed in the slot and found the back of the net 1:10 into play. Jacob Begich earned the second assist on the game’s first goal. At the 11:26 mark the first of Hayden’s two long range snipes found the back of the net as he collected a turnover at the point and hammered the puck home. As the period wound down Jameson Bain’s hard zone entry setup a pass to Darrell Smith at the point. Smith’s shot was saved, but Carson Dutcher seized the rebound and patiently skated around some net front traffic before he deposited the puck in the net with 1:38 left in the opening period to put Norwich up 3-0.
The second period saw the teams trade single goals. Bay State converted on the power play when a shot through a screen eluded Partin 8:42 into the middle period. Norwich answered less then a minute later when Kinahan potted his second of the game at the 9:34 mark. The teams were playing four aside when Hayden made a pass to Shane Mazur who ripped a shot on net that Bobcats’ netminder could not corral. Kinahan slid the rebound home to restore Norwich’s three goal lead.
Hayden’s power play goal was the only marker of the third period. Angelo Donzella made a skilled pass to Essing who then fired a quick seam pass to Hayden. The defenseman teed the puck up and hammered it home with 13:40 left to play to put Norwich up 5-1.
Both teams lit the lamp on the power play. Norwich converted one of their two opportunities and Bay State scored once in four attempts. Norwich held a 40-20 advantage in shots during the game.
“We were not satisfied with our effort Friday afternoon against Bay State, so we knew that we needed to start fast on Saturday. As a team, we know that we have a chance to be a top team in the East. We put forth a very good effort and earned two important points. Presley was a big factor in the win. He made some key stops for us throughout the game, particularly early when the score was still tight,” Said Hayden.