EAST ALTON – Brandon Lang had what most fans would say was a pretty good night Monday.
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Lang, a senior forward, had a six-point night on four goals and two assists as Alton's hockey team defeated Highland 9-2 in a Mississippi Valley Club Hockey Association game at East Alton Ice Arena.
“He had a really good game,” said Redbird coach Abram Henson. “He had four goals, two on power plays; it was probably his best game of the season.”
Lang's effort came against a Bulldog team that, despite having a run of injuries, kept coming against the Redbirds. “I know they're plagued with injuries right now,” Henson said, “but last time we played Highland, I think it was a two-goal game, and that was at the very end; it was really close.
“Those boys always work really hard; it's always tough. Tonight was just one of our better games; we came out on fire, two goals, I think, in the first 20 seconds. We just came ready to play tonight; I was really proud of the boys.”
Alton, indeed, get out of the gate very quickly, getting goals from Jake Bohn (from Lang) and Logan Rushing (from Bohn) in the opening 16 seconds to stake the Redbirds to a 2-0 lead before the fans could settle into their seats. A few minutes later, Lang got his first goal on a power play (with Devin Korte off for tripping) on assists from Tanner St. Peters and Zack Hunter to expand the lead to 3-0.
The Bulldogs cut it to 3-1 when Eric Vice scored on a power play (with Jacob Eppel off on a tripping call) from an assist from Korte late in the first period, but Lang restored the three-goal lead 36 seconds into the second period on assists from Eppel and Hunter. Scotty Waldrup scored 38 seconds after that, from a Joe Boevingloh helper, to make it 5-1, and not long after that, Eppel himself scored from Bohn to make it 6-1 in Alton's favor.
Highland cut it to 6-2 on an unassisted shorthanded goal from Brock Troxell nearly midway through the second, but Lang got his third goal on Hunter and Bohn assists, then got his fourth goal just past the midway point of the third period on a Hunter assist to make it 8-2 for the Redbirds. Lang then got his second assist when Eppel closed out the scoring with 1:55 left in the game.
Alton had 29 shots on goal for the game, with Hunter Micheletto recording 20 saves; Caleb Currie faced 15 Highland shots and stopped 13 of them for Alton.
The Redbirds next face Granite City at 8:45 p.m. Thursday at East Alton, while the Bulldogs take on East Alton-Wood River at 8:45 p.m. Dec. 22 at East Alton.
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