Nick Siracuse of the Lockport Express dashes past the net during one of the many prolonged periods the home team spent in the East Coast Minutemen's end during tonight's 10-0 win. (PHOTOS BY SCOTT LEFFLER / ENP STAFF)

BY SCOTT LEFFLER
scott.leffler@eastniagarapost.com

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The Lockport Express scored 10 goals on 89 shots.

What happens when one of the highest scoring teams in the NA3EHL takes on the team that's given up more goals than any other in the league?

If you guessed a 10-0 victory in front of a very entertained home crowd, you'd be correct.

Two Lockport Express players netted hat tricks in the shutout, which saw the home team land 89 shots on goal against the visiting East Coast Minutemen. Anthony Merante and Dillon Hayes each scored their third goal of the game with less than three minutes to go in regulation.

The game was lopsided from the start with the Minutemen sporting a short bench, comprised of essentially two lines, while the Express had their full line up at hand. And from the beginning, it looked like the ice itself was lopsided, with nearly the entire game being played in the East Coast end of the ice

The home team celebrates after one of its four first-period goals.

Lockport's Christopher Gasiewicz started the scoring at 3:11 of the first, assisted by Mark Friol and Cole Brooks. Nick Siracuse made it 2-0 at 7:47, assisted by Frank Vecchio Jr. and Merante. Merante then notched his first of the game on the power play, assisted by Jacob Burford at 12:23. Hayes quickly followed up with his first of the game at 14:37 from Jordan Pocobello and Alex Bottenfield.

The second period saw only two goals on 31 Lockport shots. Hayes scored again at 5:11 from Pocobello and Brooks. Merante scored his middle goal with just 10 seconds to play in the period. Austin Kasperek and Michael Crissy were awarded the assists.

Lockport Head Coach Frank Vecchio expressed frustration on behalf of himself and the team after the second period for the team's apparent inability to put the biscuit in the basket. "We just can't get the puck in the net," he said on the way to the dressing room.

Nine- and 10-year-old players from the Lockport Youth Hockey Association play during the first intermission of tonight's game.

Things didn't improve on that front in the third until nearly three-quarters of the way through when Siracuse scored his second, a short hander from Hayes at 14:08. Then with three minutes to go in the game, it was as if the team remembered how to score: Merante had his third at 17:18 from Ryan Logar and Brooks; Hayes grabbed his third at 18:07 from Chris Gasiewicz and Siracuse; and Crissy topped it off at 18:55 with help from Friol and Daniel Golba.

A fight with just seconds left in the game means that Pocobello will not be available for Saturday's 1 p.m. game against the Minutemen. However, neither will Michael Bellmore of the East Coast team, shortening the team's bench even further.

Coach Vecchio said Minutemen goaltender Aidan Critchlow looked good despite letting 10 past him. "When you make 79 saves, some of them are going to be good."

The offensive prowess of the team is apparenty by the fact that Express' goaltender Tyler Shotwell's shutout was only good enough for the game's third star. The first and second went to Merante and Hayes respectively.

With the win, Lockport's record is now 14-6 on the season.

Audience members participate in the "chuck a puck" contest during the second intermission.

There's more photos from tonight's game here.

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