Bobby Mallon is a defensive defenseman for a CB South ice hockey team that defeated CB East 7-1 on Friday night.
By Ben Reese
WARWICK – In this day and age of high-powered offenses, Bobby Mallon is a rarity.
The Central Bucks South senior is a defensive defenseman for the Titans' ice hockey team.
It was that defense that held Central Bucks East to only 16 shots on goal in South's 7-1 victory over the Patriots on Friday night at Warwick Ice Arena.
And, true to form, Mallon didn't have any goals or assists. But that's his job.
“You kind of do what you have to do for your team,” Mallon said. “We have enough people up front to get goals and assists so you just play your role.”
It is a role that Mallon plays very well.
“I'm used to being a defensive defenseman,” he explained. “The coach gives me a guy to shut down and usually it's the top scorer and, if it works out, it works out.”
South coach Tom Coyne knows what he has in Mallon.
“He's got so much offensive skill,” Coyne said of Mallon, “but, for whatever reason, he likes to stay at home and take care of our blue line. He's been outstanding in our zone.
“But when he gets the chance, he can go. He's probably one of the fastest skaters on the team.”
But how about the offensive part of the game for a defenseman?
“We encourage it,” Coyne said. “I like to see my 'D' jump up in the play.
“But he picks his spots. He certainly prides himself on not being on the ice when a goal is given up.”
There is another side to Mallon also. He was an integral part of the Titans' success on the football field this past season. He was a hard hitter for the South defense.
“I enjoy hitting people,” Mallon said. “In hockey, I don't really hit that much.
“In football, it's like my whole life, going against bigger kids. You're going to have to hit them harder or you're going to get knocked down, picked up and thrown. Playing outside linebacker, you either hit hard or get destroyed.”
However, Mallon got an opportunity to play the front line against East. With 1:32 left in the game and the Titans on top by six goals, Coyne put all his seniors on the ice to finish off Senior Night.
“He (Coyne) put all the seniors out and he put Connor (Bechtel) and Nick (DeLaurentis), who get to run around and score all the time, on defense,” Mallon said. “It gave me a little chance to play 'O'.”
Coyne knew what he was doing, but he did have some qualms about it.
“I called a time out and yelled down to Mike Capps, the East coach, and said 'You want to just throw out your seniors (on the ice),' ” Coyne said, “so I just thought it was kind of a nice gesture.”
How about Bechtel and DeLaurentis on defense?
“That was kind of scary,” Coyne said with a laugh. “I said that this will never happen again.
“I just wanted to give them (the seniors) their minute. It's been a good run for those guys. It was the least I could do, putting them out there for the last shift.”
It didn't hurt the Titans at all. By that time, they had put the game away with three goals in both the first and second periods and one in the third while allowing only a second period score to the Patriots.
Despite the final score, Coyne wasn't happy with the game. He felt something was missing.
“I didn't ever feel like we got going,” he said. “It just seemed like a slower pace.
“I give East a lot of credit. They really tried to defensively shove everybody in the house (in front of the net) and keep the puck to the perimeter.
“We had a lot of shots on net, but it just didn't feel like the excitement was there.”
The Titans did have a lot of shots on goal, 53 to be exact. They outshot East 22-3 in the first period and 17-4 in the second.
South got out to a quick lead in the first period. With only 3:22 gone in the game, Kevin Casey took a feed from Alex Stoll and banged it past East goalie Evan Angotti for the first tally of the game.
The Titans added two more goals in the opening period. Thomas Liberta notched the second off an assist from Tom Kelly, and the third was scored by DeLaurentis off a pass from Mike Pilla.
East struck first in the second stanza. Austin Baty scored a shorthanded goal only 43 seconds into the period with an assist going to Joe Ridolfi.
But South came right back. Bechtel scored on a power play with 11:10 remaining in the period with the assists going to DeLaurentis and Connor Matsinger.
Bechtel's goal was an unusual one. He took a slap shot at Angotti, a shot which the goalie stopped. But the rebound bounced right out in front of the net, hitting an East defender, and bounded right back into the net. Bechtel got the goal since he was the closest South player to the crease.
The next two South goals came in the final minute of the period. Pilla scored from Bechtel and DeLaurentis and Dominic Bova tallied with an assist going to Jake Bauer.
The final Titan goal came in a shorthanded situation. Kelinson got his first goal of the season off an assist by Bechtel.
Mallon had a hard time figuring which sport he likes the best.
“I love them both,” he said. “Hockey is all year round and football was, but now it's over.
“In college, I'll probably just try to play some club hockey. Football is too time-consuming and I'm kind of small.”
But not too small to be a stay-at-home defenseman.
CB East 0 1 0 – 1
CB South 3 3 1 – 7
First Period
1. Kevin Casey CBS (Alex Stoll) 3:22; 2. Thomas Liberta CBS (Tom Kelly) 11:38; 3. Nick DeLaurentis CBS (Mike Pilla) 15:52. Penalties: Nick Esposito CBE (hooking) 6:14; Austin Chase CBE (roughing) 15:59.
Second Period
4. Austin Baty CBE (Joe Ridolfi) SH 0:43; 5. Connor Bechtel CBS (DeLaurentis, Connor Matsinger) PP 4:50; 6. Pilla CBS (Bechtel, DeLaurentis) 15:02; 7. Dominic Bova CBS (Jake Bauer) 15:24. Penalty: Cameron Fox CBE (high sticking) 3:02.
Third Period
8. Kelinson CBS (Bechtel SH 11:30. Penalties: Aaron Einstein CBE (tripping) 2:23; Bova CBS (roughing) 10:01; Bova CBS (unsportsmanlike conduct) 10:01; Luke Rossi CBE (roughing) 10:01.
Shots on goal: CBE – 16; CBS – 53. Saves: Evan Angotti CBE 46; Jeff Pelkowski CBS 6, Nick Madson CBS 9.
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