Pendulums are known to swing, and they have plenty for Mentor and Benedictine this winter. Between holiday tournaments and GCHSHL Red play, Jan. 12 marked Round 5 between these News-Herald coverage area squads in a little more than a month, an unusual clip even for two longtime foes. The Bengals prevailed in one of those encounters during the Adam Hamilton Memorial tournament in December at Kent State. In the three meetings since, the Cardinals clearly haven’t forgotten. Dominic Trem and Joe Mackey netted short-handed goals 75 seconds apart in the opening period, and by the time that 15 had reached totality, Mentor had six goals to show for it. That was the impetus for an 11-1 victory that concluded by mercy rule in the first minute of the third to get to 14-8-2 on the year. Games between these two tend to be gritty, chippy and tight dogfights. This was rendered very much not that. “We’ve really been trying to stress to the guys that we need hard starts,” Cardinals coach Paul McKito said. “We need fast starts. Effort and execution, right off the rip, instead of waiting until we’re halfway through the first period where we realize, ‘Oh, we’re playing a hockey game.’ “Quite honestly, I could tell when I got here today. It just felt like we were going to put a real good one together no matter who we were playing. It just felt like the kids were dialed in, an hour and a half before game time. Obviously, they took it onto the ice.” A.J. Trobenter began the barrage at 5:09 with a long wrister from high in the zone, his 18th goal of his senior season. Mentor 1-0AJ Trobenter at 5:09 pic.twitter.com/VVqQnBtrxl — Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) January 12, 2025 Then came a fateful sequence on special teams that, by definition of course, shouldn’t have been in the Cardinals’ favor. But ultimately, it was. Mentor 2-0Dominic Trem shorty at 9:13 pic.twitter.com/WUF6ptwkoo — Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) January 12, 2025 First it was Trem with a snapper at 9:13, followed by Mackey generating a turnover in the neutral zone and walking in a wrister at 10:28. Mentor 3-0Joe Mackey shorty at 10:28 pic.twitter.com/cjX0paXCXx — Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) January 12, 2025 Nathan Andree, Zachary Ulshafer and Nick Biondolillo contributed tallies before intermission to place the finishing touches on the pendulum being ripped off its moorings with a stunning 6-0 scoreline. The Bengals (4-18-2), to their credit on the back end of a three-games-in-three weekend, did force a third period, getting a goal in the last minute before the second intermission from Zeke Bartlett. Trobenter capped a hat trick seconds into the third for the final margin. Joe Mackey also had a hat trick, pushing him to 12 goals this season. THE SCORE Mentor 11, Benedictine 1