Rough Riders Defeat Benedictine in Home Opener

Fueled by the emotion of a pre-game ceremony honoring fallen hero and former Kent Roosevelt student-athlete , the Kent Roosevelt hockey team earned a victory against league foe Cleveland Benedictine in their home opener last week.

“(The) victory starts with our goaltending,” Roosevelt coach Ben Barlow said. “Nate (Grootegoed) stopped 16 of the 17 shots he faced and several of those were very difficult stops that if he doesn’t make, we have a real difficult challenge on our hands."

Roosevelt’s Scott Rainey scored early in the game on a power play opportunity at 12:35 of the first period.  

“That was a great way to start us off, as I had a feeling we had to have a power play goal to get us started tonight," Barlow said. Kyle Manning, who Barlow cited as playing a “superb” game and who has converted to playing defense for the Riders, assisted on the initial goal and finished the game with four points (1 goal, 3 assists).

Senior Tom Fisher added an additional three points to his early season scoring total with a goal and two assists. Other Rough Riders finding the back of the net were seniors Bob Danner and Cam Bindus.

Benedictine’s lone goal was scored in the third period by Dennis Robinson.

Blue line notes

• The pre-game ceremony honored Adam Hamilton, a 2007 graduate of Roosevelt, who  earlier this year. Hamilton’s parents were presented with Hamilton’s Roosevelt hockey jerseys. During the event, Barlow characterized Hamilton as a “statistical, emotional and physical leader” during his hockey career at Roosevelt. Hamilton’s 134 career goals remain a record at Roosevelt.
• Bindus’ goal was his first goal as a member of the Rough Rider hockey team.
• The Rough Riders next game is Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. at Gilmour against defending league champions Solon.

Scoring summary

• 1st Period: KR- Rainey (Manning) 12:35 PP; KR-Fisher, T. (Manning) 11:39
• 2nd Period: KR- Danner (Fisher, T., Manning) 3:04
• 3rd Period:  B- Robinson, D 13:23; KR-Bindus (Fisher, T) 2:42, KR Manning    (Rainey, Smith) 1:31 PP

Game summary

• Roosevelt:        2 –1 – 2    5
• Benedictine:     0 – 0 – 1   1
• Shots on goal: Roosevelt 37, Benedictine 17
• Saves:  Grootegoed (KR) 16, Hauser (B) 32