The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Hapless Rumble Bees provide needed relief
Ice Breakers break five-game skid, improve to 7-0 vs. Battle Creek
The good news for the Ice Breakers is they snapped their five-game losing streak by holding off the undermanned Battle Creek Rumble Bees, 4-2, on Jan. 20.
The bad news for the Ice Breakers is they won’t see the Rumbles Bees again until next fall when they meet for the first time in the 2020-21 season.
The Ice Breakers are 14-150-2 in the FPHL this season. They are 7-0 against the Rumble Bees, who at 1-30 are the epitome of expansion team frustration. Still, earning the victory before a Martin Luther King Day afternoon crowd at Mentor
Civic Ice Arena was more difficult than it should have been.
The score was 1-1 heading into the third period. An goal apparent goal by Mentor’s Brody Duncan 15 seconds into the period was waved off because of a questionable goaltender interference call.
It didn’t matter. Mark Essery, who has been struggling to light the lamp this season, scored three times after Duncan’s goal was disallowed.
He scored at 2:08 and at 11:00 for a 3-1 lead and then added an empty net goal with less than two seconds remaining after the Bees cut the score to 3-2 in a short-handed goal with 1:54 remaining. Essery had five goals in 22 games before facing Battle Creek.
“Everyone just hunkered down and decided to play smart, simple team defense,” Essery said. “All our offense leads from that. When we get away from it, that’s when we get into problems and beat ourselves sometimes.
“Today I liked everyone’s intensity. Coach (Iain) Duncan preaches every day, ‘Come ready to work. Do the little things. The goals will come.’ It’s a long season. You’re going to have your ups and downs. Guys in the NHL go through scoring droughts, too.”
The FPHL is a bus league with no apologies, but on Jan. 20 it turned into a car pool league for the hapless Rumble Bees.
The Bees boarded their bus at 5 a.m. in Battle Creek for a 5:30 departure. The bus wouldn’t start. Mechanics tried futilely to repair it. They gave up around 10 a.m, At that point, players ended up piling into a couple cars for the four-hour ride east on I-90 to Mentor.
The Bees arrived with only 11 skaters plus two goalies. Teams normally carry 16 forwards and defensemen plus a pair of goalies. Justin Vance, who coached the Lake Catholic hockey team last season, suited up and played for the Rumble Bees. The Cougars hockey team is dormant for 2019-20.
“I thought collectively we got better as the game went on,” Coach Iain Duncan said. “I asked the team too start cutting down on the shots against and we did that.
“I told them before the (third) period. You go win a period, you win the game. They’re not going to ask you at the end of the season who you beat. We needed the three points and I’m glad we got them.”
The Ice Breakers outshot Battle Creek, 52-32. Mentor goalie Jordan Brant stopped three breakaways among his 30 saves.
Next up for the Ice Breakers is a grueling weekend with the Carolina Thunderbirds. The Breakers play the FPHL Western Division leaders (23-3-1-1) Jan. 24 and 25 in WinstonSalem, N.C. and then host the Thurnderbirds at 3 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Mentor Civic Ice Arena.