R-P Athletics
The Reeths-Puffer hockey team was in a bit of a hole after one period on Wednesday night.
The Rockets trailed Caledonia 3-1 in an important O-K Conference Fischer Division game, and a few more goals by the Fighting Scots might have made the third period pretty meaningless.
But as the Rockets have demonstrated all season, deficits on the scoreboard are just obstacles to overcome, and that’s exactly what they did.
R-P managed to pull within one goal after two periods, then scored three unanswered goals in the third to steal a thrilling 6-4 victory over the Fighting Scots at Muskegon’s Trinity Health Arena.
Sophomore standout Tyler Tindall again led the way with a three-goal hat trick, finding the back of the net once in each period.
Junior goalie Isaiah Van Noord turned in a strong performance after a tough first period and ended up stopping 34 of 38 shots.
Reeths-Puffer has now won six of its last seven games. The Rockets are 9-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play.
“I am just so proud of the resilient, never-give-up attitude our boys continue to display,” said R-P Coach Ryan Martin. “I think this is our fourth come-from-behind victory in the third period. We keep finding a way to come back.
“Between the second and third periods, we talked about our experience in these situations and how we should feel confident in our abilities. We will continue to work on stronger starts because as the season goes on, the games will be tougher and tougher to come from behind, especially once playoffs roll around.”
Caledonia got off to a fast start, collecting first period goals from Drew Sova, Alex Skibinski and Emersen Lippert. The Rockets answered with one goal, by Tindall, and trailed 3-1 headed into the second.
R-P managed to slow the Caledonia attack in the second period, allowing only one goal, Skibinski’s second of the game.
The Rockets countered with two goals, by Mason Cregg and Tindall, and Caledonia clung to a 4-3 lead heading into the third period.
The Rockets took control down the stretch, getting three unanswered goals by Jaxon Stone, Carson Harwood and Tindall to sew up the win.
Tindall’s final goal came in an extreme shorthanded situation late in the game. The Rockets had a man in the penalty box and Caledonia pulled its goalie to gain a 6-on-4 skater advantage, but R-P overcame that disadvantage and Tindall completed his hat trick.
Eli Cuti, Connor Stawski, Avery Freeland, Gavin Pastotnik and Tindall all had one assist for R-P.