Bellmore-Merrick Hockey Ices Manhasset 10-1

For the second consecutive night the Bellmore-Merrick Bulldogs won by a score of 10-1, as they outplayed the Manhasset Indians in every aspect of the game on Monday at Newbridge Arena.

The Bulldogs second line, composed of Steven Azzara, Dan Hulse and Allen West, contributed five goals on the evening. Azzara led the way with two goals and two assists, Hulse had three assists and West finished with two goals and one assist.

James Karp finished with three hits and two highlight reel goals, the first of which he made a gorgeous deke past the goalie and slipped the puck by on his backhand. The second goal was similar to the first, expect Karp dragged the puck past the lone Manhasset defender, faked a shot and roofed the puck on a backhand.

"Wow," was head coach Chris Patten's only reaction to the two goals after the game. "… If you look at James' face tonight, Karp had fun."

Score: Bellmore-Merrick 10, Manhasset 1

Record: Bellmore-Merrick, 3-0-0

Hero: The second line was stellar for Bellmore-Merrick, and at the forefront of that line was Azzara. The sophomore got the Bulldogs going just 42 seconds into the game when his line mate, Hulse, pushed the puck toward the net off a faceoff. Azzara pounced on the loose puck and pushed it in for the 1-0 lead.

"It was lying in front of the net and I whacked at it," Azzara said after the game. "… Allen is fast, and so is Dan, and we just found each other out there tonight."

Patten said he was very happy with the way his second line played in their first full game together.

"It was the first game we actually had the second line as the second line that we wanted to run," he said. "They like to refer to themselves as 'SAD' – Steven, Allen and Dan. … They played well. For their first game together, as a line, I thought they did very well."

Turning Point: Leading by a score of 3-0, the Bulldogs took three penalties that put them down two men late in the first period. If the Indians had a chance to get back in the game, it was on the prolonged 5-on-3, but the Bulldogs defense came up huge. Not only did the team allow any shots, but actually registered two shots of their own.

"Tonight, as far as I'm concerned, it was the defense," said Patten of what won the game for the Bulldogs. "… Mike O'Byrne, who is a senior, he had probably the defensive game of the year so far. Pat didn't see any shots tonight because the defense in front of him was so solid."

The defense completely shut down Manhasset's offense and allowed just six shots in total on Monday night.

Patten added: "I cannot say enough about the defense tonight from Abbene to O'Byrne to Cooper. Even Evan Pasquariello played back a little bit tonight, and then Zach [Schneider], he just played solid defensively."

Quotable: "I think when these boys are having fun, they play the game, simply put," Patten said. "They're fun to watch, and that's what this game is supposed be: enjoyable, creative, competitive, and when they can play like that, forget it."

Bottom Line: It was a physical game from the start. The Indians came out throwing their weight around and the Bulldogs were more than happy to oblige.

"They were coming at us early on, so we had to start playing a little more physical," Azzara said.

Patten said he expects a physical game from his team, but he wants to make sure it is a clean physical game.

"We don't want to shy away from the physical play, but we also want to conduct ourselves in a manner that reflects Bellmore-Merrick as a school district and the Bellmore-Merrick Bulldogs as a hockey organization. … Although some of the little stuff at the end and some of the penalties we could do without, but if the boys want to play a physical game, as long as it's a clean, competitive game, by all means we'll play that style too."

Key Stat: The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 33-2 so far this season.

Who's Next? 12/6, Bellmore-Merrick @ Massapequa (Cantiague Park), 4 p.m.

Box Score

Goals (from scorekeeper)

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