EAST ALTON – Hockey can be a emotional, physical game at times.
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Collinsville and Bethalto can attest to that as play between the two teams got physical during their Mississippi Valley Club Hockey Association contest Tuesday night at East Alton Ice Arena.
But the Eagles were able to overcome the play with two third-period goals that gave them a 4-2 win Tuesday night over the Kahoks.
“It did get a little bit interesting, a little bit chippy,” said Eagle coach Derek Kahl. “Whenever you get two teams that are battling hard to come out on top and it's a 2-2 game, intensity takes over.”
Still, getting the two goals to clinch the game made Kahl pleased. “We came through in the end, finally skated the last couple of periods and the guys came through for us,” Kahl said. “We got a shorthanded goal to put us up and then we sealed it with another goal.”
The lead goal came while the Eagles were shorthanded; Jayden Kahl was off for interference late in the second period, with the penalty carrying over to the third. Anthony Russo, undaunted, got a feed from Konner Loewen and scored to put the Eagles up 3-2 nearly two minutes into the third period.
“Shorthanded goals are what makes or breaks the other team,” Kahl said. “If the other team has the man advantage and you're able to put one in on them, it just kills their momentum.”
The Eagles fell behind early, however, when Joe Watson was off for holding and three seconds after the penalty began, the Kahoks' Cory Sperry got a quick pass off the faceoff from Jacob Scrum and scored with 2:30 elapsed in the first period. Bethalto quickly responded, though, when Loewen got a feed from Jacoby Robinson and scored on a shot that got past the Kahok goaltender eight seconds after Sperry's goal to tie things up.
The Kahoks reclaimed the lead late in the period when Scrum took possession and found Zach Stenger, who scored for a 2-1 Collinsville lead. The Eagles tied things up again in the second period when, with Scrum off on a hooking call, Russo found Justin Wendel with a pass, which he tucked past the goalie to send both teams into the final period tied 2-2.
That set up Russo's game-winning goal, and the Eagles extended the lead when Jayden Kahl scored unassisted with 8:25 to go to give Bethalto a cushion. The Kahoks couldn't find the range again the rest of the way.
The Eagles return to the ice for a 7:15 p.m. Monday clash against O'Fallon at East Alton.
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