Saline Hockey Slips by Pinckney

A big win for the Saline hockey team Thursday night set up a showdown between the SEC Red leading Hornets at SEC White leading Chelsea (7-4-1) Saturday night.

The Hornets took down Pinckney 4-2 Thursday to stay ahead of Ann Arbor Pioneer in the Red standings to set up the key match against the Bulldogs at the Arctic Coliseum at 7:30 Saturday night.

Mateo Iadipaolo put the Hornets up in the first when the Pirates missed on a pass on the power-play. Iadipaolo grabbed the puck and skated in on net for a short-handed goal and a 1-0 Saline lead.

The Pirates would answer late in the first to make it 1-1 after one.

The teams went back and forth in the second, but Griffin Clark found the net for a power-play goal with 6:25 left in the second to make it 2-1.

Pinckney would quickly answer with a power-play goal with just over five minutes remaining, but Clark scored his second of the night with 4:51 left in the second to give the Hornets a 3-2 lead heading to the final period.

The Hornets would get an insurance goal when Jake Honan took a centering pass in front of the net and drilled it home with 6:43 left to make it 4-2 and it would end that way.

Clark finished with two goals and an assist to lead the Hornets. 

Iadipaolo added a goal and two assists, while Colton Cundiff had three assists. Aidan Rumohr and Tristan Tier had one assist each for the Hornets. 

Drew Helmer stopped 24 of 26 shots in net for Saline.

The Hornets improved to 5-1-1 in the SEC Red and 8-3-1 overall.