By: Brayden Peters
BROCKPORT, N.Y. - Revenge was sweet for Brockport, as they beat Fredonia 5-1 after falling to them in overtime 4-3 on December 2. The entire team was firing on all cylinders and it was a perfect night to do so, as it was the Willie Bee Foundation Jersey Night game. For the game, Brockport debuted their bee hive styled jerseys for the foundation.
It seemed like a tight game in the beginning of the first period. Both teams struggled to maintain possession of the puck and they were both physical. However, the Golden Eagles found ways to get shots on net. Brockport forward Scott Ramaekers broke the scoreless tie on a one timer to record his fourth goal of the season.
"They kicked it wide," Ramaekers said. "Gelly (Connor Galloway) got through a guy, made a good play to Gatesy (Jacob Gates). Gatesy looked off the defenseman, swung it back post and I just swung and hoped for the best."
The Golden Eagles seemed to have gained control of the game. They constantly pressured the Blue Devils' offense and prevented them from getting a ton of shots off.
The second period was where Brockport looked almost unstoppable. Their offense kicked things up a notch, having the puck in Fredonia's territory for most of the period. Due to this and the work ethic of Brockport defenseman Dominic Chirico, forward Connor Galloway scored off of a rebound to extend the lead to two goals.
It was Galloway's second point of the night and fourth goal of the season. He was playing great hockey throughout the first two periods and whatever he did to get out of his points slump, it was working.
"I just really try to play my game," Galloway said. "I wasn't focused on the d-zone...a good d-zone creates offense, so I've been trying to focus on that. That way, with my speed, I know I can get right up into the play and make some offense happen."
Although Barbeau didn't make anything easy on Brockport's shooters just like in their previous matchup, he started to gradually get picked apart. His defense did not help him as they struggled to clear the puck out of their own zone. They didn't play as physical as in their first period and the turnovers started to hurt them.
When the third period started and some minutes went by, it looked like more and more that Fredonia wasn't going to find a way to win. Brockport forward Matt Anastasio redirected a shot from Ramaekers to put Brockport up 3-0, scoring his fifth goal of the season. However, it seemed like the tables were about to turn.
Fredonia forward Johnny Malandruccolo scored his second goal of the season on a nice wrist shot on goalie David Filak, cutting the deficit to two goals. This would be the only goal for the Blue Devils, though, as Brockport managed to settle back in and put Fredonia's backs against the wall.
Brockport forward Connor Roach would score twice to help put the game away for Brockport, helping them win 5-1. With those two goals, Roach now has four goals this season.
The Golden Eagles played a very complete game, as it didn't seem like there was any specific period where they started to falter like in the third period against SUNY Canton at home. This was thanks to Filak, as he had 31 saves on 32 shots on net, and Galloway, who recorded a goal and two assists for three points on the night. This win was much needed for the team.
"It gets us back on track," Brockport head coach Brian Dickinson said. "Huge to play like that. That's the effort into SUNYAC play."
With the victory, Brockport improves to 6-9-2 and 4-5 in conference play. As for Fredonia, they drop to 3-10 on the season and 3-6 in conference play.
Brockport will not get to play until January 19th against SUNY Geneseo, whom they fell to earlier in the year 6-2. When it comes to the Ice Knights, Dickinson believes that the little details will matter.
"You have to do everything right," Dickinson said. "You can't let Peter Morgan get loose. You got to get traffic to their goaltending, which has been really good this year."
The Golden Eagles will be the host for the game against the Ice Knights. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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