NATICK – A pair of Bantam teams hit the ice Sunday afternoon at the William L. Chase in Natick looking to put a season opening lose behind them. The distinction could only go to one, and while the Southeastern Grizzlies (0-2-0) were persistent in their search, it was the Natick Chill (1-1-0) pulling away late to score the 5-2 victory.

A shifty, quickly moving Chill forward group had Natick in control of the game early and out to a 2-0 lead on a pair of goals from Kyle Rogers. Possession favored Natick heavily, but a sound defensive structure from the Grizzlies limited the quality of their chances as Natick was unable to breakaway for their foe.

Despite the game’s flow, it was the Grizzlies who scored next, Ryan Giordano tipping in a feed from Pat Butler at 13:58 of the first to set the score at 2-1.

The Chill continued to dominate possession throughout the second, upping their lead to 3-1 on a Will Gensake goal at 2:14. Another late period goal, this one from Cullen Larabee at 13:39, cut the Grizzlies’ deficit to 3-2 and seemingly had them in good position heading into the third. The Chill, however, added a late second period goal of their own to re-establish their two-goal lead with just 0:47.5 left before the final intermission.

The Grizzlies persisted into the third and also got a strong showing from netminder Jake Agoglia in the frame to slow the Chill, but Natick still managed to sneak one more in en route to the win. Gensake put away his second of the game at 5:38 to polish off his game-high three points (2G, 1A) and the 5-2 victory.