The FNV Griffins (3-0 in conference, 6-2 overall) moved into a first place tie in the Mid Michigan Hockey Conference with a decisive 5-1 victory over previously top-ranked Lakeville Goodrich Alliance (3-1 in conference, 6-2 overall) at Saginaw Bay Ice Arena tonight.
FNV scored first late in the opening period on a goal from freshman RW Brendan Maly with an assist coming from junior forward Adam Rivette to give the Griffins a 1-0 lead at 15:49 of the first period.
Just 49-seconds later, Maly buried his second goal of the night, this one from fellow sophomore Trey Morgan at the 16:38 mark, sending FNV into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead.
Five seconds into the middle frame, FNV senior Kenny Kujawa fired a wrist shot into the top corner of the net on a pass from junior John Paul LeFevre for a 3-0 Griffins lead at the :05 mark of the second period.
Late in the second period, Rivette picked up the puck just inside the Alliance blue line and setup his own shot, using a defenseman as a screen, while firing an unassisted top shelf goal at the 15:04 mark to send the Griffins into the second break with a 4-0 lead.
Alliance managed to get on the board with a third period goal, however, FNV would respond near the midway point when LeFevre scored with an assist coming from Kujawa to round out the scoring (5-1) at 7:10 of the third period.
FNV senior goal tender Ben Younglao put together a great game between the pipes for the Griffins, allowing just the one goal in the third period.
Maly's 2-goals led the Griffins, while Rivette, Kujawa, Morgan, and LeFevre each finished with 2-points (1-goal, 1-assist) apiece respectively.
The Griffins will now prepare to head up north for a tournament in Petoskey, MI next weekend with a 5:30 pm game on Fri. against Nagaunee H.S., before an 11:30 am game against Dearborn United on Saturday morning.
Jason Marcoux
