A hat trick by Brady Wiffen was the highlight in Golden Hawks’ 9-2 win against the North York Rangers.
Wiffen got on the scoresheet 7:48 into the first period. He then added goals at 13:04 into the first and at 7:03 into the second.
The Trenton Golden Hawks’ penalty kill excelled, as Trenton gave up one goal despite allowing 10 power plays.
The Golden Hawks were often in penalty trouble, totaling 13 minors and one major for 31 minutes in penalty time. The total exceeded the 20.0 minutes per game Trenton had been spending in the box. The Golden Hawks forced North York’s netminders to work all game long, ripping 35 shots and forcing 26 saves. Gianluca Baggetta made 14 stops and Andrew Cipollone made 12. Trenton’s goal total was higher than its season average. The Golden Hawks average 6.0 goals per game.
Trenton additionally got points from Liam Morgan, who also finished with one goal and one assist, Danny Liscio, who also tallied one goal and two assists, and Michael Siddall, who also racked up one goal and two assists. Others who scored for Trenton included Kevin Lavoie, Chrisitian Lloyd, and Zach Kercz, who each put in one. More assists for Trenton came via Zach de Concilys, who had two, Andrew Pizzo, who had three, and Blayne Oliver, Nick Santoro, Aidan Parker, and Robert Smythe, who contributed one each.
The Rangers forced their penalty killing units to work especially hard during the game, picking up 10 minors and one major for 45 minutes in penalty time. North York surpassed its season average of 21.0 penalty minutes per game.
The Rangers were led by Jeremy Szabo, who registered one goal. Szabo scored on the power play 42 seconds into the second period to make the score 3-1 Trenton. Matthew Whittaker picked up the assist. Gabriel Valenzuela also scored for North York. In addition, North York received assists from Christian Zanetti and Will Reilly, who each chipped in one.
Riley Brown made 23 saves for Trenton on 25 shots. The Golden Hawks registered two goals on eight power play opportunities. For Trenton, Kercz was ejected from the game. North York ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Jake Harris was ejected from the game.
