MILLBROOK — An unsuspecting crowd left Bontecou Rink shocked Monday night, Dec. 9, after the boys varsity hockey matchup between Millbrook and Salisbury ended with an 8-1 Salisbury win.
The heated game saw tensions between the two teams climb to a fever-pitch on the ice. Slams and blocks progressed into would-be fisticuffs on the ice on multiple occasions, forcing refs and players to pull the offended parties off each other.
Salisbury’s first goal came within minutes of the game’s start, followed by a dominating series of plays that brought Salisbury’s lead to 4-0 by the end of the first period.
The Millbrook boys didn’t find much success in cutting their opponent’s lead as the girls did in the Dec. 4 game against Taft School. In the second period, Salisbury further cemented their lead by scoring two more goals, bringing the game to 6-0.
Millbrook tried to regain their footing on the ice, but Salisbury kept knocking their skates out from under them. The puck rearely stayed on Salisbury’s side of the rink for long. It seemed every time Millbrook ejected Salisbury’s squad the boys would simply regroup and retake.
A quick look at the shot count before the start of the third period shows a key difference in Salisbury and Millbrook’s play styles, and reinforces that old cliché originally coined by hockey legend Wayne Gretzky: Salisbury had taken nearly three times as many shots as Millbrook.
Millbrook’s valiant efforts culminated in a single goal early in the third period, but Salisbury stayed Millbrook’s momentum keeping the score at 8-1 until the final buzzer.
