Marines Drill Bulldogs in Hockey Playoffs

Coming off a 6-4 victory over Cold Spring Harbor, the Bellmore-Merrick hockey team came in confident to last night's second round playoff game against Long Beach.  

But after holding the top-seeded Marines scoreless in the first period, the Bulldogs were crushed 6-1 at the Newbridge Ice Rink.

"We skated with them there for a bit," Bellmore-Merrick coach Chris Patten said. "The first period was fun."

With more than 200 people in attendance, the decibel level in Newbridge could have woke a sound sleeper in Franklin Square.  

The first period saw the Marines leading in all offensive categories, 12-2 in shots and 10-5 in hits. Despite those figures, the score remained knotted at zero after one period.

But it didn't take long for the knot to be untied as Long Beach lit the lamp twice in the early minutes of the second period. The Marines scored again and extended their lead to 3-0, which forced Patten to call his team's first timeout.

"We weren't ready to have our season end tonight," Patten said.  "No matter what the score, we have to regroup and play our game."

Patten barked out orders and tried to will his boys back into the game, much like Bulldog fans have seen in the past.

The intensity level lifted even higher, and as usual the Bulldogs responded with their first goal coming from Mepham sophomore Alan West, with assists from linemates James Bobb and James Karp to make the score 3-1. That's where it stayed until the end of the second.

"These guys are a big part of this team," Patten said. "I think they realize that now."

The Bulldogs had some momentum leading into the third as they almost brought the totals even in both shots and hits.

But the wind was instantaneously knocked out of the Bulldogs both by bone crunching hits and another two quick scores for Long Beach, which extended their lead to 5-1.

"They played their style, instigating, getting into the boys' heads," Patten said.  "It's contrary to our style and I think it caught the boys off guard."

The Bulldogs will lose only four seniors this year, so it may be the rest of the league that will need to be on guard next season.