Scott Radley: Dundas Real McCoy Brad Bonello explodes for an absurd 14 points in a single game

One of the greatest games in hockey history started modestly enough.

An assist on the second shift of the game and a goal on the third was nice but hardly noteworthy. Other than the fact that Brad Bonello had been kept off the scoresheet in his previous game for the Dundas Real McCoys and was glad for some results, that is.

Even so, he's been around long enough not to get too excited about a couple points.

The 38-year-old is a hockey lifer. He's been everywhere from Erie to Amarillo and from Dayton to Dortmund. Spin a globe and plant your finger on a random spot and he's probably played there. He's been an Otter, a Pete, a 67, a Griffin, a Storm, a Grrrowl, a Flag, a Prairie Thunder, an IceDog, a Bomber, a Brahma, a RiverKing, a Gorilla, a Capital, a Falcon, an Elk, a Civette and now a Real McCoy.

The most points he'd ever scored in a game? He got seven one night last year, though he admits he doesn't really remember. So he wasn't thinking about it a week or so ago when he added another goal and collected another assist before the first period was done.

Honestly, I was thinking I'd be pretty happy if the game ended right now," he says.

No doubt. Four points is a good evening's work at any level. But a couple shifts into the second period against the Brampton Buccaneers, he scored again. Then added an assist and yet another goal before the frame was complete.

In the dressing room, guys were starting to notice. Including linemate Darren Haydar. The same Darren Haydar who's the all-time leading scorer for two different American Hockey League franchises and knows something about offence.

It was his night," Haydar says.

Five minutes into the third, Bonello collected another assist. Then another his next time on the ice. And yet another a few seconds after that.

Hockey players know the significance of a 10-point night. It's Darryl Sittler's storied mark from 1976. The greatest NHL game ever. Real McCoys president Don Robertson has been involved with senior hockey for 43 years. He can't recall one at this level.

Bonello might've stopped to think about what it meant to hit that legendary mark, but he didn't have time. Because just one shift later he set up another goal. Eleven. Then four minutes later he scored. Twelve. And a minute after that he set up Haydar. Thirteen.

Truth is, he'd lost track of how many he had by this point, but he knew this was unusual.

I've never even had a night like that when I was young or playing in men's league," he says.

And there was still time left. At 19:29 he scored his sixth of the night to go with his eight assists.

Fourteen points.

That's two more than his total in the five games he'd played before the night began. Had he ever seen anything like this, anywhere?

Never," he chuckles.

Ever heard about something similar?

No," he laughs louder now. It was a lucky night. An anomaly."

To some degree, absolutely. This league is high scoring. Brantford averages just under seven goals a game. Guys can get stats. But it's not a farce. The league scoring leader averages 2.7 points per game. Not 14. Doing what he did requires a few good bounces.

But in a 17-8 win - the biggest score all season across the league - he'd been in on all but three goals. That's not all luck.

The next day, his phone was going nuts. Players around the league were texting. His mom and sister were giving him the gears by wondering if the other team even showed up. One of the peewee players he coaches had been at the game and news of his exploits had quickly spread throughout the roster.

Everyone was asking him the same thing. Is it a record?

Good question.

The American Hockey League single-game mark is nine. Sittler holds the NHL mark with 10, which is the same as the record in the Western Hockey League and the ECHL. The Ontario Hockey League record is 11. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League mark is 12. Harry Watson scored 13 goals in one game at the 1924 Olympics (assists apparently weren't recorded back then). In the NCAA, the record is 13.

But 14? In competitive, adult, men's hockey? Has it been done before?

That's when the Hockey Hall of Fame chimes in.

On a January day in 1905, Frank McGee scored 14 goals in a single game for the Ottawa Silver Seven against the Dawson City Nuggets. So Bonello may not have set a record, but he probably tied it 118 years later.

Even though it's senior hockey, you take pride in that stuff," Bonello says.

Now he's hoping it's a sign of what's to come as he heads into the playoffs that begin Thursday (7:30 p.m. against the Wentworth Gryphins at Harry Howell Arena).

Not sure it will be.

The next game, he had one point.

Scott Radley is a Hamilton-based columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sradley@thespec.com