Motil, Myers lead Warriors over Wilmington
By DEAN DELLAMALVA JR.
MVI Sports
The Elizabeth Forward hockey team brought leading goal scorer Zack Motil back into the lineup and got great goaltending from Gabe Myers in an 8-6 win over Wilmington Monday at the Rostraver Ice Garden.
Motil scored four times after missing the last two games and Myers stopped 34 of 40 shots – including 15 saves in the third period.
“We stayed the course, I keep on saying to these kids to stick to the process and play the game the right way, good things will happen,” EF head coach John Zeiler said. “We were able to bounce back, Motil had a big night for us. Having him out the lineup the last couple games kind of hurt.”
Elizabeth Forward (6-6) carried the play early but still found themselves down 2-0 just over four minutes into the game. The Warriors power play allowed two short-handed goals on one penalty.
However, EF got it going near the midway mark of the first period. They scored three goals in 71 seconds to take the lead. Motil tallied his first on the power play with helpers from Tayte Donovan and Chase Glunt.
Motil scored again 46 seconds later on a delayed penalty to tie the game at 2-2. Joey Wach gave EF the lead 25 seconds later. Assists went to Donovan and Ben Rushkay. Motil then set up Wach with just under a minute to go on a 2-on-1 with the Warriors shorthanded. The Warriors carried a 4-2 lead into the second period.
Myers made several stops late in the first period as well. His play kept Wilmington (8-4) at bay.
“In the third period we kind of gave up on (Myers), but he bailed us out big time,” Zeiler said. “He made some really big saves. We’ve got to be better in front of him. Just tying up guys and gaps have to be a little tighter. We’re letting teams tee off on us.”
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