Recap for games of November 13 & 14
Fast-start Frank leads
Bobcats to easy sweep
Rizzo scores 40 seconds into first game, adds
hat trick in second as New York nixes Nationals
From start to finish, the New York Bobcats dominated the Washington Junior Nationals last weekend.
Just 40 seconds into Saturday’s game, right wing Frank Rizzo blasted home a 60-foot slap shot to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead en route to a 6-1 victory. Then, on Sunday, left wing Tony Romano scored with just one second remaining as the Bobcats iced an 8-1, Game 2 win at Bowie Ice Arena in Bowie, Maryland.
“Usually we win most of the games [in which] we score the first goal, so it’s pretty important,” said the 19-year-old Rizzo, who also netted a hat trick on Sunday as New York (13-3-0-1) completed a doubleheader sweep. “I just look forward to scoring the first goal and [feeding off] the energy from the beginning of the game.”
Jason DeLuca won the opening draw and fed the puck to Rizzo, who drilled a low liner from the center of the blue line through his defender’s legs and into the right side of the net. Washington goalie Kris Norbo, who was screened on the play, never saw the puck go in the net. Neither did Rizzo.
“DeLuca was coming across the middle. He gave me a drop pass and I took a slap shot,” explained Rizzo. “I didn’t even know it went in until five seconds afterward.”
Bobcats’ head coach Aleksey Nikiforov saw the whole thing from the bench. “It was a perfect shot, just oh-so beautiful,” Nikiforov said, noting that the shot never got more than seven inches off the ice. “Not too much space was between [Rizzo] and the defenseman, and that’s why the shot went right through his legs.”
The Bobcats skated over, around and through Washington. Rizzo completed a hat trick on Sunday with two power-play goals in a 17-second span of the second period. He was later named the game’s first star—an obvious choice considering he had put the Bobcats on top late in the first period and also added two assists.
“He’s very patient. Sometimes he’s just so poised, so calm, that he makes the defense hustle up [the ice], try to move side to side. Then they lose position and he’s right there,” Nikiforov said of Rizzo. “And plus he has a great shot—wrist shot [or] slap shot.”
Not to be lost in the Bobcats’ offensive explosion was the play of goalie Chris Molinaro, who stopped 62 of the 64 shots he faced and improved to 14-1. The 6-2, 180-pound Molinaro now has a sparkling 1.87 goals-against average and a solid .910 save percentage.
“You really feel safe when he’s in the net,” said defenseman Casey Hubbard, who gave the Bobcats a 5-0 lead 1:00 into the third period Saturday. “He’s just amazing. There will be times when we think they’re going to score but he’s always there.”
“For his size he’s very quick. He has very good lateral movement and a good, strong glove-side,” Nikiforov said, noting that Molinaro hasn’t dropped down to the ice in an attempt to stop shots as much as he had in the past. “And he’s starting to pick up his stick work.”
The only blemishes for Molinaro came late in the third period Saturday and late in the second period Sunday. Washington’s Robbie Janowitz scored with 2:32 left Saturday night, and Ben Konecheck did the same with 15 seconds left in the second period Sunday to deny Molinaro his second shutout of the season. “It’s like a superstition for him,” Nikiforov said of Molinaro. “He knows one puck always goes into the net.”
Many pucks were going into Washington’s net this weekend. While Rizzo led the team with four goals and three assists in the two games, Romano (3G, 3A), DeLuca (1G, 4A), forward Jarett Gold (1G, 4A) and defenseman Joe Leone (1G, 1A) each got into the scorebook. Defensemen Craig Cole (three), Justin Hastings (two) and Justin Porpora (two) provided seven assists. But perhaps most pleasing to coach Nikiforov, however, were the rebound performances of forwards Patrick Moriarty and Vladimir Nikiforov. While Moriarty worked his way out of the coach’s doghouse with two goals and three assists on the weekend, Vladimir returned from a one-game suspension to tally a goal and an assist on Sunday.
“Hockey is not only hustle, hustle, hustle. You have to learn to control your skating, and you have to learn how to control your temper, your emotions,” coach Nikiforov said, referring to Moriarty. “He has a lot of scoring opportunities, but sometimes he rushes too much. He has to be a little more patient.”
Moriarty’s slap shot, which earned him the nickname “sniper” from Nikiforov, gave the Bobcats a 4-0 lead 8:18 into the second period Sunday. And he also assisted Rizzo’s power-play goal just 2:33 later. Rizzo’s third goal immediately followed and was an example of the transition game that coach Nikiforov has been looking for all season. Cole took control of puck in the defensive zone and fired a perfect pass from the left side of his own blue line to Rizzo, who easily finished the breakaway goal to extend the lead to 6-0.
“It was a beautiful play,” Nikiforov said. “That’s what we’re looking for—a very quick transition from defense to offense. That’s what we’re working on in practice.”
But the Bobcats are also working on getting off to fast starts, particularly scoring goals in the first minute of each period. Like Rizzo said, they usually win when they do.
“It’s becoming normal for us,” said Nikiforov, noting that his Bobcats scored a goal in the opening minute of the first, second and third periods of a 16-1 home win over the Philadelphia Little Flyers on October 23. Rizzo scored 53 seconds into the second period that day, Nikiforov said, “So it’s becoming normal for him, too.”
DON’T LOOK PAST PORTLAND
It’s also becoming more apparent with every weekend that the Bobcats and Boston Bulldogs—the first-place teams in AJHL’s Southern and Northern divisions, respectively—are on a collision course for the playoffs. But coach Nikiforov isn’t taking any team lightly, especially the Portland Junior Pirates.
The Pirates (6-9), who are currently three points behind second-place Northern Massachusetts in the Northern Division, defeated New York 5-3 on October 10 and also won a shootout after the two teams had played to a 5-5 tie in Portland on September 18. The Bobcats beat Portland 3-0 on October 9, when Molinaro made 26 saves for his first and only shutout of the year.
“This weekend will be interesting, too,” Nikiforov said. “They [the Pirates] have good depth and right now they are all healthy.”
Portland is led offensively by forwards Eric Sefchik (14 goals, 12 assists in 20 games) and Craig Houle (11G, 4A in 15 games). Defenseman Francois Gagnon (five goals) and forward Dan Tuttle (two goals) are tied for the team lead with 12 assists apiece.
So what’s the key to beating Portland? “Quickness and conditioned play,” Nikiforov said. “But more important is to never lose a situation one-on-one.”
GAME 1: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13
1 2 3 FINAL
N.Y. BOBCATS 1 3 2 6
Wash. Nationals 0 0 1 1
Goals -- NYB: Rizzo (assisted by DeLuca and Lucas; 0:40 1st), DeLuca (Moriarty; 3:56 2nd), Gold (Porpora, Romano; 10:20 2nd), Romano (Porpora, Gold: 13:54 2nd; PP), Hubbard (Romano, Cole; 1:00 3rd); Moriarty (Hastings, Rizzo; 18:50 3rd); WN: Janowitz (Cohen, Fay; 17:38 3rd). Saves – NYB: Molinaro 32; WN: Norbo 18.
GAME 2: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14
1 2 3 FINAL
N.Y. BOCATS 2 4 2 8
Wash. Nationals 0 1 0 1
Goals -- NYB: Rizzo (assisted by Hastings and Moriarty; 14:39 1st), Leone (Rizzo, DeLuca; 19:55 1st), Romano (Nikiforov, Gold; 1:21 2nd), Moriarty (Rizzo, DeLuca, 8:18 2nd), Rizzo (Moriarty, DeLuca; 10:51 2nd, PP), Rizzo (Leone, Cole; 11:08 2nd, PP), Nikiforov (Romano, Gold; 1:41 3rd), Romano (Gold, Cole; 19:59 3rd); WN: Konecheck (Pope, Cohen; 19:45 2nd). Saves – NYB: Molinaro 30; WN: Brooker 14, Norbo 13.
