WARWICK—Ideally a hockey team will mature and evolve over the course of a tournament (see: 1980 U.S. Olympic team) or the course of a season. Central Bucks East took a step in the right direction Friday night.
Tyler Godown scored four goals and added an assist as the Patriots pulled away from Wissahickon in the last wo periods and went on to a 9-4 win in a SHSHL interconference affair at Revolution Ice Gardens.
It was the first win for the Class AA Patriots in three tries Wissahickon, the SHSHL’s defending Class A champion, dropped to 2-1.
For a young Patriot squad looking to find its way, the victory was extremely significant. Godown, one of just four seniors on the roster, stressed the importance of being a positive role model for his younger teammates.
“You just need a lot of leadership,” he said. “If you play hard, they’ll play hard. Don’t act scared, they’ll be good.”
Godown was his own best example, putting his team in front just 67 seconds after the opening faceoff before making it 2-0 at the 4:40 mark.
The Patriots were dominant for most of the opening period, outshooting their foes 10-1 at one point. Will and Nick Hussa scored goals for Wissahickon to make it a 2-2 game at period’s end but that score was misleading. Trojan goaltender Michael Bonnani kept his team in the game by making 13 saves in the opening 17 minutes.
But in the second period East scored four times to break the game open. Phil McIntyre and Aiden Schmidt scored the first two goals, both while East was shorthanded. Godown added the last two, one of them on a penalty shot, the second while his team was shorthanded.
Wissahickon coach Ken Harrington said his team simply ran out of gas.
“They were gassed after the first period because they were going so hard,” he said. “They never recovered, really”.
The teams combined for five goals in the final period. McIntyre added his second goal for the Patriots. Carter Keiser scored a goal before Schmidt scored his second of the game.
A.J. Pounds scored for the Trojans before Will Hussa scored his second of the night with 14 seconds remaining.
East coach Jeff Mitchell is looking for his younger players to understand their roles as the season progresses.
“Definitely defensive minded first,” he said. “Take care of home before you go and try to do anything fancy at the other end of the rink.
“And accountability. That’s the main thing with my younger players. I just to make sure that they actually realize what their responsibilities are out on the ice.”
Ice Chips—SHSHL games are now being played in 17-minute periods. The Patriots held a 41-28 shot advantage.
C.B. East 2 4 3—9
Wissahickon 2 0 2—4
First-period goals: Tyler Godown (CBE) from Bodgon Borodeko, 1:07; Godown (CBE) from Corey Kosick, 4:40; Will Hussa 
from A.J. Pounds and Ty Schiff, 6:07; Nick Hussa from Pounds and Konrad Foulk, 14:30
Second-period goals: Phil McIntyre (CBE) from Kosick, 2:09 (sh), Aiden Schmidt (CBE) from Borodenko, 4:08 (sh); Godown (CBE) penalty shot, 14:55; Godown (CBE) unassisted, 15:48 (sh)
Third-period goals: McIntyre (CBE) from Stephen DiRugeris, 5:11.; Carter Keiser (CBE) from Kosick, 8:22 (pp); Pounds from Will Hussa, 9:29 (sh); Schmidt (CBE) from Kosick, 14: 38 (pp); Will Hussa from Nick Hussa and Nolan Pounds, 16:46.
Shots: C.B. East 41, Wisssahickon 28; Saves: Matt Mangiacapre (CBE) 24. Michael Bonnani 32
Hockey Happenings 