By Jim Smith

Portage Sports Correspondent

The Kent Roosevelt Rough Riders ice hockey team opened its 2022-23 Greater Cleveland High

School Hockey League (GCHSHL) season with a 4-2 Blue East Division victory against Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin (ND-CL) on the road at Mentor Ice Arena on Saturday.

Each of the game’s six goals were a result of special-teams play, as Roosevelt netted a pair of short-handed goals and a pair of power-play goals, while each of ND-CL’s tallies were short-handed efforts.

“It’s nice to be able to go on the road with a young team and fight through some of the adversity of power-play opportunities and short-handed opportunities. Really just a positive way to start the season,” assessed Rough Riders head coach Brad Edwards.

Roosevelt sophomore Alex Simms opened the game’s scoring with a short-handed goal with 11:55 on the clock of the opening period.

The second period provided most of the night’s scoring as each team scored a pair of goals in the frame.

Freshman defenseman Teddy Maccarone, playing in his first varsity high-school game, earned his first Rough Riders career goal on a power play near the midway point of the period.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” Edwards said, referencing Maccarone’s goal. “He’s played very well

in the preseason. He’s very poised back there and it was nice to see him play the way he did tonight.”

ND-CL responded with two goals in less than a one-minute timespan to tie the contest at two goals each. Colin Krajnak and Michael Mangelo accounted for the Lions’ scoring.

Edwards responded to the Lions’ scores by utilizing his timeout to refocus his group.

“We gave up those two quick shorties (short-handed goals), and I felt like we have a very young bench and just needed to refocus the kids,” he said. “Let them know we make mistakes, however, it’s how we respond to making those mistakes.”

Edward’s encouragement paid nearly immediate dividends when Parker Gibbons scored what would ultimately serve as the game-winning goal just after the timeout.

“Gibbons scoring the goal was huge,” Edwards said. “He does a nice job, he’s in the right

place at the right time. He plays his position well and just came up huge for us with that game-winning goal.”

Gibbons’ response was Roosevelt’s second power-play goal of the night. Simms was credited with an assist on the game-winner.

Senior Luke Hillebrecht completed the game’s scoring with a power-play goal in the third period following an assist from Gibbons.

Roosevelt goaltender Brooke Binder denied 16-of-18 shots she faced.

“Brooke played a fantastic game. The play was primarily in our offensive zone and the two goals they scored were odd-man rushes. She was calm and collective under the pressure that she saw,” Edwards said. “It’s a bright promise to have knowing we only have one goalkeeper and even in those times when we get lulls in a game, she is able to maintain her focus and keep us in hockey games.”

BLUE LINE NOTES

• The Rough Riders travel to Oxford on Friday to participate in the Talawanda Thanksgiving Tournament. The tournament will be played at Goggin Ice Center on the Miami University campus.

• Roosevelt will face off against the Kent Cyclones, Springboro and Alter in the preliminary rounds of the weekend tournament.

• The Rough Riders will host the Adam S. Hamilton Tournament at Kent State Ice Arena Dec. 1 through Dec. 4.

• Follow Jim Smith on Twitter @BlueLineNotes.