ICE HOCKEY Canfield clobbers W. Geauga, 13-6

Four Cardinals netted two goals apiece in their third win.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN -- Mike Vrable, Zack Kovacs, Pat Anderson and Mark Maxwell each had two goals as the Canfield High ice hockey team topped West Geauga 13-6 Saturday at the Ice Zone.
Andy Davis added a goal and four assists and nine players scored at least one goal for Canfield.
The Cardinals' overall team effort overshadowed the individual performance of West Geauga's Mike Lopre, who had five goals and an assist and figured in the scoring on all of the Wolverines' goals in the game.
"This is the best we have looked this season offensively," Canfield coach Joe Villano said. "The players believe in our system and that was evident with 13 players figuring in the scoring."
The win broke a two-game skid for the Cardinals, 3-3-0 and 1-1-0 in the league. They had lost three of their previous four outings.
Winless
The game marked the league opener for West Geauga (0-5-0, 0-1-0) as it remained winless this season.
Vrable staked the Cardinals to an early 2-0 lead just 4:39 into the game. He lost his shot at a hat trick, however, when he incurred a roughing, fighting and game misconduct penalty at 7:54 of the opening period and took an early trip to the showers.
"We were already missing Sam Crowe and when we lost Mike Vrable, it became a lot tougher to defense Lopre," Villano said. "We wanted to shadow him with two players, but had to change that defensive scheme really quick.
"Lopre is fast and an excellent offensive player," Villano added. "Credit senior Andy Davis for us. He stepped forward, turned his game up a notch and became our quiet leader the rest of the game."
Lopre cut the Cardinals' lead in half when he scored the first of his five goals at 5:22, but Davis' unassisted goal at 11:11 gave Canfield a 3-1 lead heading into the second period.
Plenty of scoring
Ten goals were scored in the next 15 minutes, six coming off Cardinals' sticks.
Kovacs scored both of his goals in the stanza, and goals by Mark Maxwell, Connor McNamara, D.J. Haurin and Eric Buente offset the hat trick Lopre had in the period for a 9-5 Canfield advantage after the first two periods.
"We're a young team and we'll get better as the year goes on," West Geauga coach Ryan Fox said. "We're fortunate to have Mike Lopre. He's the King of the puck. He has been playing since he was 3 and has plenty of game experience. He just loves to carry the puck."
Canfield increased its lead to 12-5 on goals by Tom Mikes, Pat Anderson and Maxwell just 6:46 into the final period.
Jen Morris then found Lopre for his fifth goal of the game at 8:32 to cut the Cardinal lead to 12-6.
Anderson's second goal of the contest for the Cardinals at 12:29 rounded out the scoring.
Canfield held a 40-25 shots-on-goal advantage, while freshman Mark Takach had 19 saves in goal for the Cardinals.