Bellmore-Merrick Hockey Sinks Sailors in Rout

It was much of the same for the Bellmore-Merrick Bulldogs on Monday night at Newbridge Arena, as they cruised to an 11-0 victory over the Oceanside Sailors.

James Bobb finished with three goals and two assists, James Karp had one goal and five assists and Allen West added two goals and two assists to lead the offense.

Goalie Patrick Bedell earned the win and split the shutout with backup Matthew Waldmann after head coach Chris Patten made the switch with nine minutes remaining in the third period.

After defeating Syosset 8-1 on Friday and Levittown 13-2 Sunday, the Bulldogs currently sit in first place at 8-0-0 heading into the three-week break.

"We played pretty well tonight. It was a good offensive and defensive win," said assistant captain Evan Pasquariello, who had a huge game defensively for the Bulldogs. "… It was another good step going 8-0 on the season. It's a good start going into the break. Hopefully we can bring that into the second half."

Heroes: In just his third varsity game, freshman Brenden Lloyd netted his first career varsity goal. After a series of dekes and passes, Bobb one-touched a pass from Karp over to Lloyd who made no mistake of finishing.

Lloyd attributed his goal to the tremendous work of his teammates. "These kids are very good," he said of Bobb and Karp. "… James Bobb passed me the puck and really set me up for the goal."

"He was out there with James [Bobb}, he scored his first goal and they picked him up – it was like 'Rudy,'" Patten added of Lloyd's success on the ice. "Bobb actually went to the net and flipped the puck to me and said, 'That's his first goal on varsity, he needs that.' So I think that was really cool for the team to get so excited about a player. We're excited to see his four-year career."

Another star for the Bulldogs was Pasquariello, who was all over the ice on Monday night. He played on the penalty-kill, the power play, and even-strength. Known for his abilities both on the ice and in the locker room, the multi-positional assistant captain was praised by his coach after game.

"The greatest compliment I can say about Evan is that if my son turned out like Evan, I wouldn't be disappointed – hopefully [he would] maybe be a little bit better of a hockey player," Patten said jokingly.

Patten added: "Evan's got such a character, such a personality, and he brings the team closer together. He's the type of kid that will do whatever we ask him to – he'll play 'D' when we ask him to play 'D,' he'll play forward when we ask him to play forward, he'll sit when we tell him that he needs to sit. He is just all about this program."

Turning Point: When Karp scored to give the Bulldogs a 4-0 lead just 2:58 into the second period the game looked like it was out of reach, but when Bobb scored just six seconds after that on a gorgeous backhanded deke, any and all wind had officially been taken out of the Sailors' proverbial sails.

Quotable: "I, myself, am not the most skilled out there, but I rely on the other players on the ice, which I'm pretty glad that I can trust them out there," Pasquariello said. "I'm pretty sure that there's no one out there I don't trust with the puck, so I'll just dish it off to them and do my thing."

Bottom Line: Another game, another outpouring of goals, but the win was all the more impressive because of the teamwork shown both on and off the ice – most notably on Lloyd's goal.

"Lloyd was the type of player that I think a lot of the boys took on as like their little brother," Patten said of his team's response to the freshman. "… Lloyd, for every game he sat, he was here cheering on the team and I think that should a lot of support and a lot of his character to his teammates on the ice."

Lloyd was equally appreciative of his teammates, who have helped him mesh right into the lineup in his first three games.

"Our team played very well, we usually do," he said. "… Playing with all of the seniors on the team helps me get better, because I'm playing with people who have been playing for a lot longer than me, and they're a lot bigger."

The Bulldogs are right where they want to be heading into their three-week midseason break, and Patten couldn't be happier with his team's output to this point.

"We have talented players, but we're not going to just win on talent alone," he said. "They have to be willing to play together and for each other. I couldn't be prouder of the way they've played and what they've shown in the first part of the season."

Key Stat: The Bulldogs have scored more than 10 goals in five of their eight games this season.

Who's next? Jan. 9, Bellmore-Merrick @ Bethpage (Bethpage Community Park), 9:15 p.m.

Box Score

Bellmore-Merrick