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By Ben Reese
HATFIELD — In the end, the Raebiger brothers proved to be too much for Hatboro-Horsham.
The latest brother act for the Wissahickon ice hockey team scored seven of the nine goals in the 9-8 overtime victory over the Hatters at Hatfield Ice on Wednesday night. It was a win that the Trojans needed to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot.
Jack, the elder of the two brothers, had the larger quantity of goals, scoring five. But Ben, the sophomore who scored twice, had the most important one, the tally in overtime to clinch the win.
“It’s so important,” said Wissahickon coach James Rumsey of the win. “We hope, depending what happens in the later game tonight (Springfield defeated Plymouth Whitemarsh 4-2 in a late start), that we can get into the playoffs and get another shot at it.
“We’re happy to do what we could to control our destiny in the best way we could. It was a nail-biter of a game.”
Of course, it helps to have the Raebiger boys on your side.
“(Ben) and his brother Jack have done so much for this club,’ Rumsey said. “They come every game and give it everything they’ve got. We’re lucky to have both of them.”
But that final goal put the cherry on top of this particular sundae.
“Ben pulled off one of the biggest goals of his career,” said his coach. “He’s a phenomenal player.”
So, Ben, was this the biggest goal of your young career?
“Yeah,” he said with a grin, “But in one game I had four. It’s a big deal.”
Hatboro-Horsham coach Shane Smith wasn’t surprised by what the Trojans threw at his team.
“We knew they were going to come out,” Smith said. “They’re fighting for a playoff spot.
“They came out and did what they had to do. We didn’t quite step up.”
A big part of the game came in the second period. After a 1-1 tie at the end of one stanza, both offenses exploded for four goals each, sending the game into the third tied at 5-5.
Each team scored three times in the third to continue the tie. Then in the overtime, with 32 seconds expired Ben took a feed from Aiden Brooks and beat HH goalie Eric Miller for the win.
“Everything exploded (in the second period),” said Rumsey. “It was just two great teams going at it, one after another. Up and down emotions the entire game.
“Hatboro played a great game. Our guys did too.”
In that second period, first Jack Raebiger scored on the power play to give Wissahickon the lead at the 2:23 mark of the period. Then the Hatters scored at 8:36 to tie the game.
Twenty-seven seconds later, Jack scored his second goal. And 21 seconds after that, he again beat Trojan goalie Fletcher Lynch to give the Trojans a two-goal lead at 4-2.
In the space of 1:34, Darius Graziani netted a pair of goals for Hatboro to again tie the game.
A Vincent Graziani goal put the Hatters on top at 5-4. But Wissahickon came right back to tie it again on a tally by Logan Dicus with 49 seconds left in the period.
The third stanza saw more goals scored. Both teams got three markers with the Hatters tying the game with 52 seconds remaining in the final period, sending it to overtime.
Ben Raebiger made sure that his Trojans came out on top. He took a pass from Brooks and found the back of the net, setting off a wild celebration on the ice.
Big goal, Ben, and big comeback.
“We just dug deep and kept moving,” he said. “That’s how it goes.”
Certainly does.
Wissahickon 9, Hatboro-Horsham 8
Wissahickon 1 4 3 1 — 9
Hatboro-Horsham 1 4 3 0 — 8
First period: 1, Ben Raebiger W (unassisted) 7:01; 2, Victor Wilkins HH (Joseph Magnin, Nathan Nemchinov) 15:25.
Second period: 3, Jack Raebiger W (Logan Dicus, Aiden Brooks) 2:23 PP; 4, Wilkins HH (Reid Rochestie) 8:36; 5, J. Raebiger W (Joe Gambino, Evan McCutcheon) 9:03; 6, J. Raebiger W (Dicus, Gambino) 9:24; 7, Darius Graziani HH (Vincent Graziani) 10:02; 8, D. Graziani HH (Nathan Nemchinov, V. Graziani) 11:36; 9, V. Graziani HH (Nemchinov, Aiden North) 14:22; 10, Dicus W (Link Matozzo) 16:11.
Third period: 11, D. Graziani HH (V. Graziani, Rochestie) 7:15 PP; 12, J. Raebiger W (Dicus) 7:23; 13, J. Raebiger W (unassisted) 7:32; 14, V. Graziani HH. (unassisted) 9:39; 15, Brooks W (unassisted) 15:25; 16, Wilkins HH (North) 16:08.
Overtime: 17, B. Raebiger W (Brooks) 0:32.
Shots: W 41, HH 35. Saves: Fletcher Lynch (W) 27, Eric Miller (HH) 32.
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