After dropping three of its previous four games, the Rome Free Academy hockey squad is hoping that things have finally gotten back on track following Tuesday’s 9-2 rout of Westmoreland in a Division II East matchup at Kennedy Arena.
The Black Knights got a big game out of their three core front linemen of Max Bartell and brothers T.J. and Garrett Reilley, who together tallied a four-goal lead at the end of the first period to put the Bulldogs in a hole early.
"I would dare say find me a better line than those three," said RFA coach Greg Cuthbertson. "They have been playing with each other forever, I want them to play together and they want to play together. It shows they have that sense about them when they are together which is good."
T.J. Reilley led the offensive attack on the night with an impressive four-goal "top hat" while also contributing with one assist, as Bartell shot in one goal and made two assists, and Garrett also had a goal and an assist.
With Saturday’s 10-4 loss to New Hartford and his no-score outing on his mind, T.J. wanted to put things right starting off the contest with three straight RFA goals in the opening period.
The first goal came with the help of Seth McCormick, who with 12:50 remaining shot from the Westmoreland blue line over to T.J. near the front of the net to get things started for Rome. Bartell then would also get in on the fun by picking up a steal while in Bulldogs territory then quickly passed it over to T.J. at the net again nearly three minutes later.
T.J. then finished the period with an unassisted power-play goal at the 5:20 mark while coming from center ice with a couple of quick moves that knocked the Bulldogs defenders off guard before firing in the third goal.
T.J. Reilley would later score his fourth goal in the third period and 15th on the season with an assist pass from sophomore Connor Richie.
"It feels good scoring four goals, but I think the team played pretty decent and finally got a win in," T.J. said. "This is a win we needed to get back on track and keep it going.
The Black Knights’ leading scorer on the season, Garrett Reilley, would then soon get his share with his seventh goal of the season off a pass from Bartell from behind the Westmoreland net and straight to Garrett standing in front of it to put RFA up 4-0.
Bartell also secured his 11th season goal on the power play off assists from Garrett Reilley and Kyle Williams with 8:14 left in the second period.
Cuthbertson said that T.J. is tough to stop when he gets going but added that Tuesday’s game wasn’t about individual achievements but more of a team effort after Saturday’s loss.
"We decided we were going to get the puck below the goal line and when we get the puck below the goal line, and when we get on people defensively I think that’s one of our strengths we can play too," he said. "The New Hartford game was one of those you want to forget about, but you have to learn from. I think one of the things we’ve learned was if we don’t get the puck deep, we turn the puck over in those gray zones and it’s going to hurt us," he added.
The Bulldogs tried to mount a rally to pick up their first Division II East win this season when junior Alex Foster made two goals in the second period to make it 5-2. Foster’s first score was an unassisted tally, and the second was a shorthanded goal off an assist from senior co-captain Shane Stockhauser.
Despite the attempt, the Black Knights’ five straight goals proved too much for the Bulldogs to handle as RFA kept cruising on by responding with four more goals before the final buzzer sounded.
"We started out flat and in the second period we picked up our play but we couldn’t keep it going and they got a few extras," said Westmoreland coach Jim Cusack. "I think we’re playing good hockey but we’re having a tough time putting the puck in the net."
Robbie Waller scored two goals in the Black Knights’ second offensive burst, with Matt DeMatteo capturing a goal as well while Richie picked up the assist on T.J. Reilley’s fourth goal, and freshman Ken Adams contributed with an assist also. Goaltender Anthony D’Urso also secured his third win of the season in front of the net while grabbing 18 saves.
The loss drops the Bulldogs’ record to 3-7-1 overall and are now 0-4-1 in Division II East play.
Cuthbertson added that even though the Black Knights offense soared last night, the team still would be down if it wasn’t for their defensive game, which has given up 24 points in their last four games.
"We’ve got to shorten our defensive zone up because our offense will be dictated by our defense," he said.
"When we don’t play defense, who cares what we do on the offensive end. It’s something we’ve got to keep concentrating and keep working on and hope these young guys get where they need to get."
The Black Knights upped their overall record to 6-4-1 overall and remained in second place behind New Hartford in the Division II East standings with a 5-2 record. The Spartans are undefeated in the division at 6-0.
"We’re starting to see the maturity come out a little bit on this young team," Cuthbertson said. "Even the games we’ve struggled in, there were good things going but things didn’t go our way. It’s a sign of us learning and growing up."
RFA will be back to host Hamilton next Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Kennedy Arena, while Westmoreland hosts Proctor on Friday at 7:30 at the Whitestown Community Center. Both games are Division II East matchups.
