It had been three weeks since the Reeths-Puffer hockey team experienced victory, and for a talented squad with a lot of big goals this season, that was a frustrating feeling.
The Rockets finally did something about it on Saturday, building a three-goal lead, letting it slip away, then scoring the final two goals late in the game to beat Grand Rapids Catholic Central 5-3 in a non-conference road matchup.
The winning goal was scored by Hayden Taylor, who deflected a shot into the net with 2:37 remaining in the contest.
Reeths-Puffer improved to 6-3-1 on the season.
R-P's Trenton Hanks gets ready to take a shot. Photo/Tyler Lirones
“We finally got the start that we wanted," said R-P head coach Dustin Langlois. "We got three goals in and maintained it for a while. They surged back in the third period, but we showed our grit and kept our nose to the grindstone to come out with the win."
The Rockets took the lead in the early minutes of the game with a goal by Tyler Tindall, who was assisted by Ayden Hartzell. Taylor added a shorthanded goal late in the period and R-P led 2-0 at the first break.
There was no scoring in the second period.
The Rockets extended their lead to 3-0 with a goal by Trenton Hanks (assisted by Jordan Benkert) 2:30 into the third period.
R-P's Connor Anderson works his way around a defenseman. Photo/Tyler Lirones
GRCC roared back at that point, scoring three unanswered goals to make the contest close, but Taylor scored his game-winner late in the contest, with assists by Connor Anderson and Eli Cuti, then Cuti added an empty-netter with 53 seconds remaining.
R-P goalie Huck VanDyke stopped 19 of 22 shots.
The victory gave R-P a positive end to the weekend, following a disappointing 3-1 loss to a very strong Caledonia team on Friday night.
Caledonia scored twice in the first period, then went up 3-0 with another goal eight minutes into the second period.
R-P's Ayden Hartzell (16) looks for room to make a play. Photo/Tyler Lirones
The Rockets got a goal from Cuti with five minutes left in the second period, but could get no closer.
R-P lost despite having a 42-32 advantage in shots on goal. VanDyke stopped 29 shots in the loss.
Caledonia improved to 12-2 on the season.
"We faced a tough team that is on a bit of a hot streak," Langlois said about Friday's game, which was R-P's first contest in several weeks. "We had a lot of chances but ultimately fell short."
The Rockets will host West Ottawa on Wednesday night at Muskegon's Trinity Health Arena.