PREP HOCKEY Poland icers remain red hot

The Bulldogs beat Boardman, 4-2, to win their sixth straight game.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN -- Robby Wyand scored two goals and added two assists Friday as the Poland High ice hockey team defeated Boardman 4-2 in Northeast Ohio Hockey Association action at the Ice Zone.
"I was just in the right place at the right time tonight," Wyand said. "Everything just fell right into place.
"Our passing has been great and this is turning into a great rivalry," Wyand said. "Wins like this just add to our confidence."
The Bulldogs (8-3-0) won for the sixth straight time while the two-time defending league champions Spartans are 5-5-1.
The game marked the second win in five days by the Bulldogs, who had never beaten the Spartans in three previous years of play.
"We didn't score early and had some breakdowns that were costly to us tonight," Boardman coach Matt Pusateri said. "We played hard but lacked good fundamental play."
The Bulldogs scored first at 7:46 of the opening period on a goal by Robbie Snyder.
With 45 seconds remaining in the period, Brett Pitzulo added a powerplay goal for a 2-0 lead.
Playing even: After a scoreless second period, each team scored twice in the third.
Boardman's Tim Cerimele cut the Bulldog lead in half with a power play goal at 11:10 but Wyand, on a short-handed, unassisted goal at 8:21, made it 3-1.
Boardman's Jeff Evans had a rebound goal at 7:01 to cut the deficit to 3-2 but that was as close as the Spartans would come the rest of the way.
Wyand, assisted by Pitzulo, with a power play at 4:28, rounded out the scoring for a 4-2 victory.
Of note was the play of Bulldogs goaltender Cody Hiznay who was perfect through two periods when he stopped 22 Boardman shots. He saved 31 of 33 on the night.
"Cody Hiznay had a tremendous game for us tonight," Poland coach Jim Cowan said. "We played more hockey than football and with better passing had better scoring opportunities.
"That's how you win in this league."