Senior Fright: Garden City Upsets Bellmore-Merrick Hockey on Senior Night

Nobody has forgotten the 12-0 mauling that the Bellmore-Merrick Bulldogs handed to the Garden City Wings in their first game of the season – and maybe that was the reason the Wings controlled Monday night’s game at Newbridge Arena and prevailed 7-5.

It was a night that began on a nice note, with ceremony during which the Bellmore-Merrick seniors presented flowers to their moms for all of their support through the years. The festivities were expected to continue into the following 45 minutes of hockey, but Garden City quickly put a stop to that.

“When you dominate like that I think you lose a little bit of your competitive edge and some of these other teams are hungry,” Bulldogs head coach Chris Patten said after the game. “I tip my hat to Garden City tonight.”

The Bulldogs got things started less than three minutes into the game when Frankie Leavey found the top corner on a nice passing play from senior captain James Bobb. However, Garden City tied the game 1-1 less than one minute later when Albert Markopoulos’ buried a puck from 15 feet out.

Markopoulos’ picked up his second of the period with less than four minutes remaining in the first and assisted on a power-play goal from Luke Cohen 45 seconds later. The Wings added another power-play goal with 39 seconds left in the first period to take a unexpected 4-1 lead.

The penalties continued in the second period when the Bulldogs were called for six penalties in an eight-minute span, including a ten-minute misconduct to Leavey. Bellmore-Merrick spent most of that time on a 5-on-3 and eventually the Wings put one home on Markopoulos’ third goal of the game.

The Wings grabbed their biggest lead of the game at 6-1 when James Burnside buried his second goal of the game.

Bellmore-Merrick’s first line got things together with less than three minutes left in the seconds. Bobb scored on a breakaway after a gorgeous lead pass from James Karp. Nine seconds later Karp won the faceoff and pushed the puck to Allen West, who got the puck into the crease where Karp cut the lead to 6-3. 24 seconds after that, Bobb scored a on backhand to swing the momentum the other way.

“We came out thinking we were going to blow this team out,” Bobb said. “We turned it around at one point when we were down 6-1 and we finally just started to wake up, but the three goals in one shift was really it for us.”

Defenseman Jake Barber made it a one-goal game when his wrist shot found the back of the net midway through the third, but a late double-minor penalty on Leavey and Markopoulos’ fourth goal of the game ended any chance of a comeback for the Bulldogs.

“I think the penalties are what got us,” Patten said. We’ve had a hard time lately playing 45 minutes solid and having our pedal to the metal and foot on the gas the whole time.”

Score: Garden City 7, Bellmore-Merrick 5

Records: Bellmore-Merrick 18-2-0; Garden City 10-8-2

Heroes: Markopoulos finished with five points and got Garden City going early with some fast skating and a couple of quick dekes.

“Albert always gives you everything he’s got,” Garden City head coach Rich Peck said. “He’s a great player.”

Despite the loss, Bobb continued to be a dominant force on the ice for Bellmore-Merrick with two goals and one assist.

Turning Point: The string of penalties in the second period led to one goal and drained a ton of valuable time off of the clock, leaving Garden City in the driver’s seat for the rest of the game.

“We were probably on a 5-on-3 for five minutes straight there,” Bobb said. “It kind of killed us. They didn’t really capitalize on any of the opportunities, but still us playing with three guys instead of five really made a big difference.”

Quotable: “I think the boys got a little comfortable coming out and dominating some of the games they did,” Patten said. “… We took them 12-0 in the first game of the season and they should have come out hungry tonight, and I wish we came out as hungry as they did. They played a great game, my hat’s off to the players and the coaching staff.”

Bottom Line: As Patten said, Garden City was hungry for revenge and looked like a completely different team from earlier in the season.  The Wings couldn’t have picked a better time to pick up their play with the postseason just one week away. The Wings finished atop the Liberty Division in the regular season.

Goalie David Wax made 27 saves in the win.

“I think the kids just knew what to expect. Everybody gave their best effort. They really wanted to win,” Peck said. “Sometimes it just comes down to desire. They outworked them and I think our goalie stood on his head. The guys should be really proud of the way they played.”

The Bulldogs, on the other hand, will not know their fate until Massapequa plays its final game of the season. The two teams will more than likely finish with the same record and then first place will come down to goals scored and goals against.
“Hopefully we’re still the No. 1 seed, we’re still going to states, and from now on we have to win in the playoffs – that’s what we’re going for,” Bobb said.

Patten added that the loss doesn’t change the team’s goal.

 “We give them a good practice week and get ready for Sunday,” he said. “These boys remember that 18-2 means nothing if we don’t reach our final goal, which is the final two [teams].”

Who’s Next? Feb. 13, (1) Garden City vs. (4) East Williston, 7:30 p.m. (Long Beach Arena); Feb. 13, Bellmore-Merrick vs. TBD, 7:30 p.m. or 9:15 p.m. depending on seeding (Town of Oyster Bay Skating Center in Bethpage)

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