James Dobry delivered the performance of his young season Monday night, recording his first hat trick to lead Long Beach to a commanding 9-2 victory over Garden City/Herricks/Mineola at Long Beach Ice Arena. The junior forward, who entered the contest with just three goals in 12 games, exploded for three empty-net tallies in the opening period alone, single-handedly matching his entire season output in less than 17 minutes of action.
Long Beach (12-4) wasted little time asserting control, scoring four unanswered goals to close the first period after Eamon Harrington had given the visitors an early 1-0 lead. Dobry’s offensive outburst began at 7:19 when he converted assists from Brody Dowler and Flynn Zeilman, then added the game-winner at 4:23 off a Cooper Kessler setup before completing his hat trick with 3:20 remaining in the frame. Owen Hayden also found the net in the period, finishing a Deklan Eidens feed to cap the four-goal surge.
The second period saw Long Beach extend their advantage to 7-2, with Kessler adding two goals to his assist total while Cruz Asham also found the back of the net. Garden City/Herricks/Mineola (5-11) managed just one response from leading scorer Avery Yu, who entered the game with 32 goals in 13 contests but was held largely in check by Long Beach’s defensive pressure. The visitors, playing without their usual offensive flow, managed only two goals total against a Long Beach attack that distributed scoring across nine different players, with Kessler, Hayden, and the trio of Mason Sackaris, Flynn Zeilman each recording multi-point performances.
