BENDING IT IN: Hun School boys’ hockey player Jon ­Bendorf tracks the puck in a game earlier this season. Last Thursday, sophomore Bendorf scored a dazzling end-to-end goal to help Hun defeat the Princeton Day School 6-1. The Raiders, now 6-0-1, are next in action when they play in the Purple Puck Tournament in the Washington, D.C. area from December 28-31. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

The trio of forwards Evan Barratt, Jon Bendorf, and Blake Brown made an immediate impact on the local high school hockey scene last winter, helping to transform the Hun School boys’ squad into a power.

With each of the Killer B’s freshman line scoring at least 60 points (Barratt — 23 goals, 38 assists, Bendorf — 36 goals, 30 assists,  and Brown — 28 goals, 32 assists), Hun posted a 20-7 record, winning the Mercer County Tournament and a second straight Independence Hockey League (IHL) crown.

Coming into this winter, Hun dropped out of the IHL to upgrade its schedule and earn a spot among the elite teams in the state.

But with Barratt suffering a knee injury that has him sidelined until January at least, it looked like Hun may have bitten off more than it can chew.

“We are missing Barratt and that is a big roadblock for us so we had to rise to it,” said Hun head coach Ian McNally.

Last Thursday as Hun played at perennial power and nemesis Princeton Day School, the pair of Brown and Bendorf rose to the occasion. Brown tallied two goals and an assist while Bendorf scored a dazzling end-to-end first period goal that gave Hun a 1-0 score, jumpstarting the Raiders to a 6-1 triumph as they improved to 6-0-1.

With last year’s installment of the rivalry having been snowed out, Brown and his teammates were eager to finally get a shot at the Panthers, the defending state Prep champs.

“We have been looking forward to playing them since last year,” said Brown. “It got snowed out twice so the anticipation has been building.”

Brown and his teammates drew inspiration from some of their former teammates.

“Coach read us alumni messages about this game and how we were never able to beat these guys in past years,” said Brown. “It is sweet to be finally  able to do it.”

One of those messages mentioned Brown specifically but it took a key assist from Hun head coach Ian McNally to help him have a big game.

“Spy Avgoustiniatos, one of the seniors from last year, had some predictions for the game and one of them was that Blake was going to score,” said McNally.

“Blake forgot his socks. I had a new pair of black socks in my bag so I gave them to him and I said every time you have fresh socks on, you have to score, that is a hockey rule. He said ‘I better,’ he hasn’t scored in a long time. He got two and he probably could have had four.”

Bendorf, for his part, was proud to see Hun rule the Panthers. “We were so excited to play this game,” said Bendorf.

“I couldn’t even focus during exams today, I just wanted to get to this game. We got a huge crowd out there and we were able to show them who the best team in Princeton is.”

While Bendorf acknowledged that the absence of Barratt leaves a major void, he liked the way his teammates have risen to the challenge.

“You can win with anybody as long as you are out there and playing your hardest and giving all of your heart,” said Bendorf.

“We knew it was going to be a challenge, every step of the way but we were able to get the win. To start off the season at 6-0-1 is great going into vacation.”

In Brown’s view, not having Barratt early in the season could benefit the team down the road.

“Obviously it hurts without Evan but we are still able to be great without him,” said Brown. “When he comes back, we will be even better.”

That is a scary proposition for Hun’s foes.