By Len Bardsley

WALL — The St. Rose ice hockey team knew it was coming when the Purple Rose offense erupted and time arrived on Friday against Howell at Jersey Shore Arena.

St. Rose skated past the Rebels 7-1.  It marked the first time the Purple Roses had scored over four goals all season. St. Rose coach Dan Grothues was thrilled to see his team find the back of the net early and often against the Rebels. “It has been all season,’’ said Grothues on waiting for a big scoring output from his team. “Their goalie [Bobby Dovenero] is one of the better in the Shore Conference, for us to get some goals on him early and go into the locker room with a pretty good lead was the first time we have been in that situation for a while.’’

 The Rebels actually took a 1-0 lead on the Purple Roses with 5:32 left in the first period on a goal by Ryan Damelio.

Sean Grant scored the first of his two goals two minutes later off assists from Alex Phipps and Will Lemonie to tie the game 1-1.  The Purple Roses took the lead for good in the first minute of the second period off another goal by Grant set up by Phipps.

Phipps, a senior forward, would end the game with two goals and seven assists, getting involved in every goal of the game.  The Purple Rose captain has been the clear spark for the St. Rose offense with his strong skating and ability to put pressure on an opposing defense.

The top forward line of Grant, Phipps and Lemonie can be a tough combination when they get rolling and the game against the Rebels was a perfect example.  Grant can match the speed of Phipps, while Lemonie does not hesitate to go to the net or use his size and strength along the boards.

Lemonie is a perfect compliment to Grant and Phipps and is enjoying his first season for St. Rose playing out of the goal.  “I love it,’’ said Lemonie of playing forward.  Lemonie feels a good week of practice had St. Rose ready for the Rebels.  “We built some confidence in practice,’’ said Lemonie. “We have been practicing really well. I get in front of the net and everything works out from there.’’

Grothues feels Lemonie does a great job of putting himself in the right position to score.  “Will has played well,’’ said Grothues. “He has a knack of finding the back of the net. He gets in the right places. He is a strong player. He is coming out of his shell and being in the right places.’’

The Purple Roses did a great job closing out the second period to take control of the game.  Phipps used a burst of speed to go right through the Rebels defense before scoring on a breakaway with 1:31 left in the second period to give St. Rose a 3-1 lead.

The Purple Rose line of Phipps, Grant and Lemonie put some heavy pressure on the Howell net before Mark Sandomierski swept in from his defensive position to score with only 46 seconds left in the second period, giving St. Rose a 4-1 advantage.

The Purple Roses killed off a penalty early in the third period before totally taking over the game.  “The guys responded well,’’ said Grothues. “They killed off a penalty in the first couple minutes of the third and we were able to put a couple more pucks in to finish off the game.’’

Lemonie scored two goals in a span of two minutes in the third period to give St. Rose a 6-1 lead. Phipps would close out the scoring for St. Rose.  Lemonie was confident the Purple Roses offense always had the ability to have a big game.

“We knew we had it in us,’’ said Lemonie. “We just have to show up. We got right on top of them and we kept going.’’