SOUTHGATE — A couple of local high school ice hockey co-up teams shared the rink for a second time this season on Wednesday when Downriver Unified welcomed in New Boston United to Southgate Arena.
Downriver came in looking to reestablish some positive momentum, having lost two of their last three games after previously winning three of four overall. They were also looking to make it two wins in as many tries this season vs New Boston, who was hoping to shake off a rather lengthy seven-game losing skid.NBU will unfortunately have to try again another time after DU, behind a fast start, cruised to a big 10-2 victory.
The season sequel is the latest of what has become a bit of an annual tradition between the two independent programs. Downriver has now won each of the last four meetings, all by an average of just over seven goals, after New Boston had won three of the four battles from 2022-24.
The dozen combined goals scored should come as no surprise to folks, either. Both teams came in averaging around four goals per contest themselves this season, while also seeing their games average at least over nine total goals.
The 10 goals are a new season-high mark for Downriver, and the two goals against are the fewest they have given up in a game since pitching an 8-0 shutout of New Boston in their first showdown. And much like they did in that Dec 9 meeting, they raced out to a fast start and virtually coasted the rest of the way.
Downriver on Wednesday scored the game’s first five goals, all coming in the first period. The latter three of those five came short-handed and all in the span of less than a minute of game action.
Special teams, in fact, were a big difference for DU as they went on to score three more goals in the second while on the power play themselves. New Boston briefly stopped the bleeding by tallying their first of two goals in the middle stanza but simple could not keep up with their opposition.
It was a collective team effort for Downriver on Wednesday as 10 different skaters recorded at least one point in the win. Among those were a trio of two-goal scorers in Kaden Petrarca, Christian Sommer, and Nico Harmon.
Petrarca added two assists to his ledger to make it a game-high four points on the night for DU, who elsewhere got single goals from Gabe Wallace, Henry Vena, Cade Wasner, and Cameron Cousino.
Wallace and Cousino each helped out on two DU goals. The latter currently leads the team with 30 points through 18 games played. Garrett Warden and Jackson Moul each had one assist for the hosts, while Brant Gadberry helped out on two goals himself.
Despite another result in the loss column, New Boston saw its top two goal scorers this season on Christopher Kososki and Johnny Dembowski come through once more on Wednesday. That duo has combined for over half of NBU’s total goals this winter, with Kososki now posting a team-high 22 in that department.
The visitors elsewhere got single assists from Zander Proud and Parker Doutre.
UP NEXT
Downriver (8-10) will now pack its bags and head to the left side of the state for a weekend matinee tilt vs East Kentwood on Saturday, Jan 24. As was the case on Wednesday, DU will be eyeing a season sweep after defeating the Falcons by a score of 8-3 back on Dec 6.
New Boston (3-16) meanwhile won’t take the ice again until Jan 26 when they battle Riverview-Cabrini United over at the Kennedy Recreation Center in Trenton. It could be a prime opportunity for NBU to right the ship after surviving a winning a wild 13-12 overtime thriller vs RCU in their first go-round back on Dec 23.
Photo gallery of New Boston United vs Downriver Unified in ice hockey action
