Bruins Overpower Adirondack With 10-4 Home Win

by JT Szabo
Troy, OH - The Troy Bruins got back to their winning ways with a hard-fought display of offense against the Adirondack Predators in the first-ever meeting between the two clubs, with the Bruins pulling out a 10-4 decision on home ice inside the Historic Hobart Arena in Troy on Saturday night.

With the addition of new Bruins to the roster, Troy started their first game in two weeks feeling out the Predators, who boasted a large compliment of European players, before settling into an aggressive and physical style of play. Play would remain scoreless until 8:13 into the first period, as the Predators bounced a pass behind Bruins starting netminder Alexander Kuzmenko to take an early 1-0 lead.

Yet, just :23 later, Bruins starting centerman #19 Aaron Huber found the back of the net for the tying answer. Huber's goal, his sixth of the season, sparked the Bruins offense in the first, with Troy scoring three more goals in the period and forcing the Predators to pull their starting netminder Anthony McDaniels with a little under 5:00 to go.

Of the Troy goals in the first, two were from the stick of team captain #15 Lee McClure, and one was a backhand sniper from #9 Justin Laconte. After twenty minutes, the Bruins took a 4-1 lead into the dressing room, and led the Predators in shots 17-7.Chomping at the bit between periods, the Bruins offense machine started the second period just as it had finished the first, with #15 Lee McClure scoring his "hat trick" earning third goal of the night just :47 into the middle stanza on the K's Hamburger Shop Powerplay.

McClure, in his first game after being moved from Defense to Wing, scored his first "hat trick" of the season with the early goal. Adirondack would answer with a quick pair of goals at the midway point of the period, but would be powerless to stop the Bruins from doing the same at the tail end of the second, thanks to #19 Aaron Huber's second lamplighter of the contest at 14:56, and #22 Derek McPherson's first goal of the weekend less than a minute later. Troy's 7-3 lead propelled them into the second intermission with confidence, out shooting the Predators 12-10 in the period.

The first forty minutes would see Bruins leading scorer #8 Josh Tucker without a single point, before he found the back of the net for an even-strength goal from Laconte and #23 Tyler Merritt at the 5:13 mark of the third. Tempers flared in the early half of the third period, with both McClure and Iffland involved in fisticuffs, and after the delay, Troy's #27 Justin Dornhecker capitalized on a setup from Merritt and Tucker to extend the lead 9-3 at the 13:10 mark.

Adirondack's Lenoid Kovalev notched the Predators final goal of the game at the 16:40 mark, and not to be outdone, Bruins defenseman #23 Tyler Merritt mustered his first goal of the season from defensive partner #14 Erik Levin to ensure the game's 10-4 final score. Shots in the third favored the Bruins 10-6.

With the win, Troy improves it's overall regular season record to 7-4-0, while Adirondack drops to 7-3-1 and remain just one point ahead of the Bruins for second place in the NJHL.

Both teams lace them up for a matinee rematch Sunday at 1:30pm at Troy's historic Hobart Arena. All general admission tickets are just $7, and can be purchased at the Hobart box office prior to game time.