Eastview tops Bloomington Kennedy behind 1st-period flurry

Just more than six minutes into the first period of Thursday's boys hockey game between Eastview and Bloomington Kennedy, the latter had already switched goalies.

The Eastview Lighting (3-1-0) poured it on early, scoring six times in the first period, en route to a 10-1 win against the Bloomington Kennedy Eagles at the Apple Valley Sports Arena.

"We want to be that team that comes out and buzzes you and gets after you," Eastview coach Drey Bradley said. "From the first drop of the first puck to the very end of the game, we want to be buzzing around."

Eastview's 10 goals came from seven different players. The barrage of scoring started just more than two minutes into the game, when Eastview defenseman Ryan Reger's shot from the right point was deflected in by freshman Jake McGlocklin.

Senior Max Smith bumped the lead to 3-0 with two straight goals, prompting Kennedy (1-5-0) to put in eighth-grade goaltender Christopher Marks.

The frustration was visible from Bloomington Kennedy as the Eastview lead continued to build.

"I think they were coming after us," Smith said. "They wanted to hit us. I think we kept going and kept getting goals and it paid off for us."

The change in netminder didn't help much, though. At the 6:30 mark, Eastview scored quickly off a faceoff to go up 4-0. Just 11 seconds later, it was 5-0.

But Kennedy wanted part of the scoring action, too. Just 20 seconds after going down 5-0, the Eagles found the net themselves with a goal from senior Ryan Kutzler.

"You want to try not to allow them those opportunities," Bradley said. "What happens is guys are seeing goals scoring and we start leaning forward a little bit instead of doing things they're supposed to do."

Eastview outshot Kennedy 13-4 in the first period, as play was dominated by the Lightning inside the Eagles' zone.

Kennedy's Tony Basil, who was pulled in the first period after giving up three quick goals, returned to start the second. Basil played much better during the second frame and the Eagles were able to put 10 shots on goal.

Eastview was held scoreless for almost 13 minutes into the second frame before adding two late goals, the second coming off a nifty give-and-go between forwards Scott Nelson and Ty McDevitt.

Eastview added two more goals in the third period. The big lead allowed the Lightning to give ice time to some younger players. Coming into the game, seven of Eastview's eight goals had been scored by its top line.

"It's nice to get that spread out and get those other guys their first goal," Bradley said. "They kind of get the monkey off their back and get a feel for it."

McGlocklin and Nelson had two goals apiece, and forward Nick Abbott and Nelson led the team with three assists each. Smith said the victory can be an early building block for Eastview's first season as part of the new South Suburban Conference.

"We're hopefully looking to be one of the best teams there and just getting as many wins as we can," Smith said.

The Lightning will try to continue its hot play Saturday when Eastview takes on Burnsville.

"Our last few games we've come out in the first period and we haven't really been rewarded," Bradley said. "Tonight, we got rewarded a bit for are hard work."