HOCKEY: Will Simons scores three as Somerset Berkley skates past Durfee (updated)

This story has been updated.

FALL RIVER — In their second matchup of the season with Durfee, the Somerset-Berkley Raiders started slow, but exploded offensively in the second period as they beat the Hilltoppers 10-2 Monday night at the Driscoll Arena.

“I think we executed a little bit better in the second period,” Somerset-Berkley coach Kevin Snyder said. “We didn’t get it in the first period… to come out 44 seconds in (to the second period), it’s a huge goal and I think that set the tone for the period. We started the momentum and just rolled from there.”

Will Simons registered a pure hat trick while John Salamone and Jake Salema both scored twice for the Raiders (3-4).

From the initial puck drop, both teams appeared evenly matched, making equal offensive opportunities while both goalies made stops. A penalty on Jake Salema with 12:53 left in the period gave the Hilltoppers the first power play opportunity of the game, and while they controlled the puck and got a few shots off during that time, Dylan Belchior and the Raiders' defense kept them from getting on the board.

For the majority of the opening period, the back and forth between the two teams continued, and Durfee’s second power-play opportunity with 7:38 left in the period as Conor Dionne went to box for boarding went much the way as the previous attempt.

The Raiders got their own power play opportunity with 4:17 left in the period , but a handful of saves by Arpa kept them at bay, and the period came to a close still scoreless.

That changed quite a bit in the second period.

The Raiders offense came out of the locker room refreshed and hungry, breaking open the scoring with 14:15 left in the period when Salema came up the middle and sent a chip shot over Arpa’s shoulder to give his team the lead.

A call for boarding sent Salema to the penalty box with 11:00 left in the period, but his teammates carried on shorthanded and doubled their lead just 20 seconds later as John Salamone got on a breakaway down the middle and sent a hard shot into the upper right corner of the net to make it 2-0.

From there, it was all Raiders, as they controlled the puck and kept the Hilltoppers in check offensively.

Somerset-Berkley added another goal with 6:18 remaining in the middle period as Max Aguiar fed Will Simons in front of net and the junior forward sent a hard shot past Arpa’s blockers to make it 3-0.

Simons wasn’t quite finished yet, however, as he added another with 5:20 left when he found himself on the breakaway and beat Arpa out again on the right to make it 4-0.

Simons completed the hat trick less than two minutes later, as he pushed the puck under Arpa’s pads into goal in front of a crowded net with 3:05 left to complete the feat and make it 5-0.

Less than a minute later, Evan Affonso joined the party with a goal of his own, beating out the goalie with 2:36 remaining in the high-scoring period for the sixth Raider goal of the evening.

The Hilltoppers (0-7) responded and put themselves on the board with 1:33 remaining as Justin Aragao beat out Belchior in front of net to make it 6-1.

Before the period came to a close, Jordan Giotis was sent to the penalty box for interference with 0:39 left, setting up the Raiders for a power play going into the final period.

The final period of play started stayed much the same as the one prior, with Somerset-Berkley solidly in control from the start. The Raiders continued putting pressure on, even as they began rotating out some of their bench players.

The Hilltoppers lost Zach Massa with 9:56 remaining as he was called for a minor for charging and then a game misconduct.

On the power play, the Raiders added another to their total as Salema sent a hard shot to the bottom left corner with 9:14 left to make it 7-1. With the goal, the Raiders pulled Belchior to give an opportunity to backup goalie Nickolas Mahjoory.

Durfee suffered another ejection with 7:38 left when Mike Frucci was served a five-minute major and game misconduct for an elbow to the head on Dionne. It became a 4-on-4 scenario for two minutes as the Raiders’ Nathan Cordeiro was sent to the box for cross checking with 7:26 left.

It remained a busy night in the final eight minutes as on Salamone sent a shot through the five hole on Arpa with 7:14 to make it eight on the night for the Raiders and Josh Pacheco made it 9-1 in front of a crowded net with 5:58 remaining.

Two goals came within the final 20 seconds, one for each team. Cole LaForce best out Mahjoory in front of a crowded net with 0:19 left to make it 9-2, but the Raiders went right down ice on the resulting faceoff and added a final blow as Cordeiro put in a slap shot from distance with 0:09 remaining.

“We dug a hole this year and now we’re trying to come out of it, and with little baby steps, we’re getting out of it,” Snyder said, regarding the team’s slow start to the season.

The Raiders return to action Wednesday night when they rematch Apponequet, while the Hilltoppers have a week off before they head down the Cape to face Pope John Paul II in Hyannis.