MIDDLESEX TWP — First-year Butler hockey coach Patrick Hammonds noticed his team was running out of gas late in games.

So Monday night at Ice Connection, Hammonds deployed a new set of lines against Class AAA rival Seneca Valley.

The Golden Tornado, which had only scored five even-strength goals in its past four games, scored seven in a 9-0 win over the Raiders.

“What we noticed was we were having a lot of success with a heavy-top six,” Hammonds said. “What you also notice is that success goes away pretty quickly when the guys get tired. We knew we couldn’t be successful in the long term with only two lines.

“So what we had to do was spread the talent out a little bit.”

Butler forward Connor Scott was put with Marcus McCall and Josh McGowan. Chris Martin was also rotated in.

Scott got the Golden Tornado’s offensive assault started with his awareness.

Scott parked in front of the net, taking a centering pass from McGowan and put a shot toward Seneca Valley goalie Alyssa Peterson.

When his shot hit the post, Scott followed up the rebound quickly, guiding the puck into the net with 7 minutes, 2 seconds left in the first period.

Scott feels like this group can adapt to any necessary personnel shifts.

“We’re a close-knit group and we all love playing with each other,” Scott said. “No matter who we put together we all play well together.”

Seneca Valley, which is 6-3 and had a two-game winning streak snapped, out-shot Butler 11-5 in the first period.

The Raiders just couldn’t find a way to beat Clay Bachman, who made 26 saves to earn the shutout.

Both teams had 26 shots on net. Peterson made nine stops for Seneca Valley, while Dylan Sloat had eight.

“We were undisciplined, flat-out,” Seneca Valley coach Anthony Raco said. “There were a bunch of individuals out there. It was improv hockey on our part and that’s what you get. We deserved everything we had handed to us.”

Dustin Davis doubled the Golden Tornado’s lead a minute into the second period, going top shelf to Peterson’s stick side on a breakaway.

Butler defenseman Jonathan Fair, who finished with a hat trick, added two power play goals and Trevor Gilliland scored to extend the lead to 5-0 at the end of the second.

Fair thought the line changes were a big help. It helped snap the Golden Tornado (5-3-1) out of a two-game skid where they scored one goal.

“We have a lot of adversity that we’re trying to go through right now,” Fair said. “It was really nice to see everything click tonight because of the change we made.”

Ben Rodgers scored twice in the third period, Davis added a second.

Fair finished his hat trick with a slapshot from the right circle in the third period.

It wasn’t intended as a shot, but it got past Sloat. Butler’s offense had everything going for it.

“I was trying to get it through and have my guys bang away at it,” Fair said. “The team played great tonight, individual stats don’t matter. We got the win, that’s all that matters.”