Brighton Hockey Falls to Howell, 4-2.

It didn’t take long to show how intense the rivalry between Brighton and Howell really is. If anyone in the full-capacity crowd at the Kensington Valley Ice House didn’t know that, they’re well aware now. They also know Howell senior forward Jake Henrikson can score – at will.

Just eight minutes into the contest players from each team had to be separated – and that was only a sign of things to come.  In fact two of Howells’ first three penalties were due to roughing. The game featured 19 total penalties for a combined 38 minutes. That means that for over half of the contest one team had a player in the box.

In the end the Highlanders defeated Brighton, 4-2.

The Bulldogs cut their deficit to one goal with 1:05 left in the contest. Sean Nelson scored the goal for Brighton after he grabbed a rebound shot by Alex Achino. The goal came after the team pulled starting goalie Jack Gosselin.

“We thought that hopefully we could go out there and tie it up. …We let them get in our heads,” Nelson said. “Penalties were huge. Overall it was just a penalty game. This was a disappointing loss, we just have to move on now.”

Their efforts proved futile soon enough. Gosselin was again pulled with less than 40 seconds remaining and like he had done all night, Henrikson scored. The goal was his third of the contest, gaining him the hat trick. Henrikson now has three hat tricks on the season, two of them coming against Brighton.

Brighton won the first meeting between the schools the season, 6-4. The biggest difference for Howell was goalie Andrew Brownlee. In the last game he gave up five goals (a season-high), faced 32 shots and had a .830 save percentage. Monday night, Brownlee stopped 28 shots and had .933 save percentage.

Brighton was never able to get into a groove on offense. This was in large part due to the aggressive Howell forecheck. The Highlanders landed a whopping 41 hits in the contest.

“The first game we had a little more flow. This game was a lot more physical,” Brighton coach Paul Moggach said. “When we played five-on-five we played well but we had a lot of penalties. We needed to be more disciplined. I think we played their game, and that’s not out game. That style of play wasn’t in our best interest. We need to not react to what they did to us.”

Howell built an early 2-0 lead following a power-play and breakaway goal by Henrikson, both in the second period, however, Brighton battled back.

On a 5-on-3 power-play opportunity, the Bulldogs finally got on the board with 5:28 left before the final intermission. They moved the puck around and it ended up on the stick of Tommy Kivisto, who made quick pass past Brownlee into the cocked and loaded stick of Travis Cohoon, who finished the one-timer.

Branden Burton added a goal for Howell to the lead back to two goals. The goal came on a power-play chance with nine minutes left in the final period. Burton battled with a Brighton defender in front of Gosselin. He grabbed a rebound shot by Evan Proud, who led the Highlanders in penalty minutes (6), and pushed the puck past Gosselin.

The Bulldogs (6-6-2) outshot Howell (7-3) 22-32.