Announcement
A veteran affair
By Dominic Anselmo (Mayfield Hockey Alum)
The Mayfield Wildcats have struggled in Blue North-play so far this season. With a division-rival coming up on the schedule on Day 2 of the Bay Rocket Invitational, the Wildcats needed to make a statement. To accomplish that goal, Mayfield leaned on a pair of seniors.
Jake Malone and Anthony Krueger combined for eight goals in a 9-1 win over Nordonia, the second straight big offensive output for the Wildcats (5-4-1).
Malone began the scoring early in the first when he forced a turnover at the red line, grabbed the puck and ripped a beautiful slap shot from the blue line just under the crossbar to give Mayfield a 1-0 lead.
The Knights answered with a goal of their own against Matt Mramer (16 shots-15 saves) to tie it at 1 before the intermission.
It was all Mayfield after that. Krueger and Malone, which sounds like a law firm, took over as the Wildcats scored seven goals in the second period, including five in a five-minute stretch early after the break.
Krueger finished the scoring early in the third, perfectly deflecting a shot by captain Joe Wilson into the net for his hat trick. Krueger also added three assists.
Ryan Kristoff, Nick Gaeta and Josh Berg each recorded their first assists of the year.
Junior Christian Verde scored the other goal for Mayfield, which can take home the tournament title with a win over Bay.
