October 19, 2022 (Norwich, Conn.) – The Northeast Generals NA3HL team hit the road on Wednesday morning for a matinee matchup against East Division opponent the Norwich Sea Captains. Dalton Wille found the back of the net three times while Nolan Zotter recorded three total points in the 4-1 General win.
With the win Northeast improves to 10-0-0-1 this season and remain perfect in regulation. Norwich meanwhile falls to 6-2-1-1 and remain in second place in the east.
The Sea Captains opened the scoring 4 minutes into the contest while on a fast break. The Generals won an offensive zone faceoff, but a bad turnover in the middle of the slot sent Sava Makarenko with speed into the neutral zone. Makarenko took the puck towards the outside while on a 2-on-1 and chose to shoot picking the top corner for the 1-0 lead.
Nick Recupero tied the game for the Generals with 13:49 remaining until the first intermission. Caiden Hess and Michael Locke worked together to work the puck into the offensive zone and low on the far side wall. Locke fed the puck up to Recupero at the blue line who took a step in and fired a shot of his own into the top corner for his 2nd goal of the season.
The Generals then took their first lead of the game at the 12:03 mark of the first. Zotter won a faceoff towards the middle of the ice that Recupero tipped towards Wille. The Minnesota native brought possession to the far side of the slot and placed the puck off the post and into the back of the net.
The lone goal of the second period came when Zotter extended the Generals lead about halfway through the frame while on a solo rush into the offensive zone at 9:47. Working 1-on-1 on the defender Zotter stickhandled the puck a couple of times, then used the Sea Captain as a screen to beat the netminder with a shot to the top portion of the net.
Wille added his second goal of the game in the third period at the 8:37 mark extending the lead to 4-1. Lambert held the puck in the corner and fed it towards the front for Zotter. Looking to throw it on net Zotter couldn’t pull the trigger, but Wille was there to pick up possession and backhand the puck along the ice and into the far corner of the net.
The Gens found themselves on a powerplay in the late stages of the third period looking to add on to their 3 goal lead. Lambert carried the puck into the offensive end up the right side boards and found Hess on the far side. Hess’s shot was blocked, but Wille was there to pick up the rebound for his third goal of the game.
Ian Kangas started the game for the Generals stopping 17 of the 18 shots and improving his season record to 7-0-0. His counterpart Andrew Yocum for Norwich surrendered 5 goals on 23 shots in the losing effort. His record moves to 5-2-0.
Next up for the Generals is another mid-week matchup this time on Wednesday October 26th when they take on the Bay State Bobcats at 12:30 p.m. at the village.
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