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Recap for games of February 11 & 12
Immediate impact
New-fangled fabulous forward line
of Romano, Moriarty, Schultz nets
four goals, 11 assists on Saturday
Patrick Moriarty had already reaped the benefits of playing on the same forward line as Bobcats leading scorer Tony Romano, as the duo combined for 11 points (six goals, five assists) in a nine-goal rout of the Walpole Express back on Oct. 1. But never had Moriarty, an assistant captain, been paired up front with both Romano and first-year Bobcat Stephen Schultz.
Until last weekend. Needing a spark to ignite his team after a sloppy first period in Saturday’s showdown against the second-place Northern Mass Cyclones, Bobcats head coach Aleksey Nikiforov put the three players together on a hunch. It worked out well, as the trio totaled 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in the Bobcats’ 8-3 victory, including Romano's sixth hat trick of the season.
“That’s kind of how sports is,” said Moriarty, who scored two goals in a 2:33-span of the second period, the last of which gave the Bobcats a 5-1 lead with 3:23 left in the frame. “You change stuff up, and then all of sudden things work out.”
That was an understatement. Starting with Romano’s icebreaking goal off assists from Moriarty and Schultz 6:11 into the period, the Bobcats rattled off five straight goals. The only goal during the run that wasn’t scored by the Bobcats’ new-fangled fabulous forward line was put in by forward Billy Blaszcyk with four minutes left in the second period. It came off an assist from captain Mike Coppola, and also turned out to be the game-winner—the first GWG of the year for Blaszcyk.
But the highlight-reel goals were turned in by Saturday’s terrific trio. Romano had two of the five goals scored by his line and added four assists, upping his team-leading totals to 53 goals, 55 assists and 108 points. His play was undoubtedly the catalyst to the Bobcats’ barrage of good finishes, as he either scored or assisted each of the game’s first three goals.
It started with Romano’s equalizer. Schultz carried the puck from the defensive zone up along the right boards before making a cross-ice pass to Moriarty just inside the blue line. Moriarty then broke in toward the net before making a perfect timing pass to Romano on the back door.
On the second goal, New York countered the Cyclones’ aggressive forecheck with breakout passes from Moriarty to defenseman Justin Porpora to Romano. A tightly defended Romano found a way to finish on the breakaway to give the Bobcats the lead for good, 2-1, with 8:24 left in the period.
“Everything just clicked—timing, everything,” Nikiforov said. “It was just unselfish work. Beautiful goals. Even the coach from Northern Mass said, ‘It’s a pleasure to watch how you score goals.’”
Northern Mass coach Bill Flanagan may have said that afterward, but certainly not during the game—not when Romano & Co. were skating through his Cyclones defense like boiling water through ice. For the Bobcats, the three differing forwards formed the perfect chemistry for a goal-scoring eruption.
“Tony and I kind of read each other well,” Moriarty said. “I consider myself more of a passer and a set-up guy, and Tony is more of a finisher. And Steve can do both.”
Moriarty did his share of both, too. After Romano drove toward the right side of the net, he slid a perfect pass back into the slot that Moriarty one-timed up high to make it 3-1 with 5:56 left. Then, after Blaszcyk’s goal, Moriarty scored again off assists from Schultz and Romano to make it 5-1.
Said Nikiforov of Moriarty: “It seems like he’s back.”
And it seems that Schultz has officially arrived. The curly-haired ’Cat’s craftiness has been evident each of the last two weekends, as he has totaled 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in the Bobcats’ past four games.
“Schultz is a real playmaker,” Nikiforov said. “Romano has great offensive skills. And Moriarty, this time he showed that scoring is universal. He is a physical presence and has scoring and playmaker skills.”
Although Nikiforov said this forward line will not remain intact for two big reasons—Coppola is no longer junior eligible (the UConn-bound forward turns 21 on Feb. 18) and veteran forward Frank Rizzo is out indefinitely with an unknown illness, leaving the Bobcats shorter on point-producing forwards—the coach did say he would put them back together should the situation demand it.
“When I need it, I’ll use it,” Nikiforov said. “When I need it, they’ll be back.”
They were back together for Sunday’s game, and Nikiforov needed it with the Bobcats trailing 8-5 in the third period. After Northern Mass scored four straight goals to open the third period, Romano scored a power-play goal—his team-leading 14th of the season—to make it 8-6. Moriarty followed by converting a Romano assist with 40 seconds left to make it a one-goal game. But it wasn’t enough, as the Cyclones escaped with their first win in four tries this season against the Bobcats.
“We can’t win everything. It’s not a machine,” Nikiforov said of his team, which is still two points ahead of the Cyclones with three games in hand. “Look, we only lost three [league] games [this season].”
The victory undoubtedly gives Northern Mass a head of steam and heads full of confidence as the mid-March AJHL playoffs—which will likely pit the Bobcats against either the Cyclones or Boston Bulldogs in the championship game—approach. By the same token, the loss reminded the Bobcats that no game is a given, which is why Nikiforov isn’t assuming his team will remain in first place.
“One of our goals right now is to win the league championship,” he said. “I don’t care right now about the playoffs. I care right now about finishing No. 1 overall.”
Nikiforov was neither overly alarmed nor overly upset by the loss, noting that goaltender Doug Danzi—who played well in earning the win on Saturday, and was then called in to replace Evan Hyndman midway through Sunday’s game—had tired by the end of the second game.
“Probably Dougie had nothing left from Saturday night, so it wasn’t a good game for him,” Nikiforov said. “In a close game, an even game, you must have strong goaltending. We did not have strong goaltending yesterday.”
The same could not be said Saturday, when Danzi stopped 17 of 20 shots, including two second-period breakaways that enabled the Bobcats’ five-goal surge to continue. But Sunday’s off-day for the netminders—Hyndman and Danzi each allowed four goals, giving the Cyclones eight on 29 shots—spoiled the going-out party for Coppola.
The Bobcats captain, who is no longer eligible to play for the Bobcats due to his commitment to D-I UConn and his age (he turns 21 on Feb. 18), thought he would finish his junior-level playing days on a high note after he scored off assists from defenseman Richie Ernyey and Danzi to give New York a 5-4 lead with 3:35 left in the second period. But the Cyclones’ fast third-period start resulted in a loss for Coppola in his final game in uniform.
It is not, however, Coppola’s final game with the team, as he remains on board as an assistant coach who will travel with the Bobcats and continue to skate with them in practice. Coppola’s gameday departure, though, has left an opening for another captain’s spot. It was handed to Romano this week as recognition for his quiet leadership. Romano, Hubbard, Moriarty and Porpora will all serve as assistant captains.
“Tony is a quiet leader,” Nikiforov said, citing Romano’s “professional attitude. He’s working and some guys are talking, but talk is cheap. He proved he has leadership on the ice and in practice.”
The Bobcats return to the ice this weekend at The Rinx in Hauppauge. They host the Philadelphia Junior Flyers on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 8:10 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 19 at 10:10 a.m.
When they take the ice, there’s no telling what forward line Nikiforov might put together next. “We can spread it out and see how it works,” Moriarty said. “Maybe some kind of new line this weekend will work out even better.”
GAME 1: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11
1 2 3 FINAL
Northern Mass 1 0 2 3
N.Y. BOBCATS 0 5 3 8
Goals – NYB: Romano (assisted by Moriarty, Schultz; 6:11 2nd), Romano (Porpora, Moriarty; 11:36 2nd), Moriarty (Romano, Schultz; 14:04 2nd), Blaszcyk (Coppola; 16:00 2nd), Moriarty (Schultz, Romano; 16:37 2nd), Romano (Moriarty, Schultz; 6:56 3rd), Porpora (Romano; 10:44 3rd, PP), Von Sydow (Vrachnas; 16:57 3rd); NM: Van Buskirk (unassisted; 12:13 1st, PP), Resendes (Strathman, Bell; 3:56 3rd), DeRosa (Resendes, Hanscom; 19:37 3rd, PP). Saves – NYB: Danzi 17 (20 shots, 60 minutes); NM: Witherspoon 15 (20 shots in 36:37), Brooks 10 (13 shots in 23:23).
GAME 2: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12
1 2 3 FINAL
Northern Mass 1 3 4 8
N.Y. BOBCATS 1 4 2 7
Goals – NYB: Von Sydow (assisted by Blaszcyk, Coppola; 8:27 1st), Moriarty (White, Romano; 0:16 2nd), Satin (Mangene; 12:15 2nd), Blaszcyk (Mangene, Gold; 12:48 2nd), Coppola (Ernyey, Danzi; 16:25 2nd), Romano (Schultz; 16:31 3rd, PP), Moriarty (Romano; 19:20 3rd); NM: Hanscom (Gross, Carriere; 9:43 1st), Warneke (Trimbath, Simeone; 9:44 2nd), Eisath (DeRosa, Bell; 10:10 2nd), Hanscom (DeRosa, Eisath; 11:11 2nd), Eisath (DeRosa, Hanscom; 1:54 3rd), DeRosa (Hanscom; 9:33 3rd), Warneke (Giordano, Simeone; 11:38 3rd), Resendes (Van Buskirk, Carriere; 13:32 3rd). Saves – NYB: Hyndman 13 (17 shots in 32:37), Danzi 8 (12 shots in 27:23); NM: Witherspoon 11 (15 shots in 32:48), Brooks 14 (17 shots in 27:12).
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