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After playing 15 SHSHL games and losing 14 of them, there wasn’t much hope for a different result against division leader Lansdale Catholic on Thursday night. However, the Hatters threw a scare into the Crusaders in mid December when Manny Billones scored 5 goals in the first period of a game the Hatters eventually lost 10 - 7.
Billones continued his punishment of LC when he scored an unassisted goal just :14 into the game. A mere :15 later Nick Sette beat Joe Dooney to tie it up. The deadlock remained until 8:23 remained in the period when Billones put one past Crusader netminder Helen Cooney to restore the Hatters lead. Dooney kept the door closed for the rest of the period.
Lindsay Howard got a bit of revenge in period two. Howard was hammered by 2 LC players in the last game between the teams and wound up missing the following game due to injury. Howard set up Pat Durkin for a shorthanded goal to make it 3 - 1 and, after 2 Crusader scores tied the game again, she assisted on a goal by Chris Hammel, his first career goal, and the Hats went up 4 - 3. Billones sewed up his 4th hat trick of the season soon after to extend the Hatters lead to 5 - 3 and things were looking good for the Red and Black. They got even better when Brett Geller notched his first goal, assisted by Billones and defenseman Logan Wright. Suddenly the Hatters found themselves with a 3 goal lead with time winding down in the middle stanza. LC wasn’t finished yet. Andrew Hart got one back 1:48 before the 2nd intermission.
Dooney made the 2 goal lead stand up through the first 5 minutes of the final period but then LC’s Alex Slowik cut the deficit in half. With 10 minutes left in the game, the Hatters were hanging on to a slim 6 - 5 lead. The teams skated back forth for the next 9:00. The Crusaders called a time out with 1:15 remaining, trying to set their strategy and give the players a brief rest. Play resumed and just :11 later, Billones deposited his 4th goal of the game into LC’s empty net ending the suspense. Durkin assisted on the goal, Billones’ 24th of the season. LC scored a meaningless goal with a half second remaining to set the final score at 7 - 6 and the Hatters had their first win of the season (an earlier win against CB West was overturned by the league as the Hatters had used an illegal player).
No one can take this win away though. With a miserable season winding down to the final 3 games, this team could have rolled over. But they had enough pride and perseverance to reverse the trend. They worked hard and they were rewarded for their effort with a win over the division’s top dog.
The Hatters will have an extra week to savor their victory. No games are scheduled this week. They next take the ice in a rematch against AA William Tenent on February 2nd at 7:00 PM at BCI.
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