As the Beaver Area Hockey Team reaches a lull in their season, they face off against some unfamiliar opponents and hope to add another one to the win column.

November 30 the Bobcats played against Westmont Hilltop (near Johnstown)—their only game in a two-week span. Even though Westmont had a 0-9 record going into the game, Beaver Area made sure to play what was possibly their best game of the season so far.

After Westmont took a 1-0 lead in the first period, the Cats reset during the first intermission and quickly answered back.

The scoring for the Bobcats kicked off on the power play with a goal by senior captain Carter Denelle. Quickly after, the team increased their momentum and jumped to a lead of 4-1 after goals by sophomores Roman Guido and Gabe Forney and junior Trevor Schmidt.

Westmont answered back quickly, however, with two goals being scored near the end of the second period to cut the Cats lead to 4-3.

Entering the second period, the Bobcats didn’t let Westmont’s last goals scare them off. Six more goals were scored this period by Beaver Area, with two more scored by Schmidt, two more scored by Guido, one more scored by Forney, and one from junior Zack Masters. Both Schmidt and Guido registered hat tricks on the night. Senior goalie Caleb Berardelli kept out 22 shots with a save percentage of 88.

The final score of the game was 10-3, the Bobcats’ largest margin of victory this season.

Schmidt, who was one of two players who recorded a hat trick that night, had some great things to say about the game and season so far: “Our record is really solid so far and hopefully stays that way so that we can make the playoffs this year. We have a big game against Blackhawk next week, hopefully we can pull through and win.”

The Bobcats now sit at a 4-5 record which places them at eighth in their division. The next game will take place against Blackhawk at 8:50 p.m. December 14 at home.