Brighton’s defense stiffened in the second quarter, holding Novi to just one goal. With 3 minutes remaining in the period, Matt Dircks put one through the pipes, on an assist from Joon Kim.

Ghannam and Patterson each put points on the board early in the second half, with assists from Tim and Greg Kolis. With the score at 6-0, the Bulldogs couldn’t face another shut out, and rallied for two quick goals.

With just two minutes left in the third quarter, Alec Lemieux and Trevor Patterson each slammed in goals to end the quarter 8-2 Novi.

The fourth quarter opened with three quick Novi goals. Tyler Burnett delivered back to back scoring goals; assisted by Lemieux. Then a third goal by Patterson got past the Brighton goalie, pushing the score to 11-2.

Brighton was able to put two more on the board before time ran out, but couldn’t catch the Wildcats, and play ended with Novi up 11-4.
 

Earlier in the week, the Wildcats clipped the Hartland Eagles wings with a final score of 7-2.

Hartland’s big team took control of the ball early, but couldn’t get it past Novi goalie Dan Burris. A long pass downfield by Burris following a failed Hartland goal put the ball in Novi’s hands. Tyler Burnett was in position for a quick relay and a goal shot to put Novi’s first point on the board.

Seconds later, Alex Ghannam and Tim Kolis combined for a smooth scoring goal by Ghannam, pushing the score to 2-0 Novi.

Hartland took advantage of a moment of chaos to put its first point on the board, but in subsequent play, Brandon Juodikis snagged the ball and made a drive for the net. His shot passed over the Eagle goalie’s shoulder, and widened Novi’s margin to 3-1 with 7 minutes remaining in the period.

Burris took control of a long Hartland pass, and moved out of the net to midfield, pushing to ball toward Hartland’s goal. Unexpectedly, Hartland regained control. Though Burris hustled back, and managed to halt the Eagles’ drive to the net, there was a penalty on the stop, and Burris was sent to the box.

Justin Purdy stepped into the net as goalie, and provided excellent defense to several aggressive Hartland goal attempts. On a fourth attempt with 3 minutes remaining, the Eagles scored, and the tally was 3-2 Novi.

A smooth relay from David Sparling through Trevor Patterson positioned Joon Kim to deliver another Novi point, and the score climbed to 4-2, where it remained till the end of the quarter, in spite of continuing scoring attempts by the Wildcats.

Burris was back in the net as the second quarter opened, and held off further Hartland scoring attempts throughout the quarter. The Ghannam/Kolis partnership delivered another goal for Novi, which was followed by several minutes of struggle for control of the game. David Sparling slammed another goal in for Novi, with help from Patterson, and the score stood at 6-2 Novi at the half.

Both teams hung tough throughout the second half, penalties abounded and scoring was essentially stalled. Burris headed off two scoring attempts by Hartland in the 4th quarter that appeared destined for the net. In one of the final scrambles, Joon Kim snagged the ball and put it into the net on a straight shot, for a final game score of 7-2 Novi.