WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — The Hartford High boys hockey team came back from an early two-goal deficit to defeat Rutland, 4-3, on Saturday at Wendell A. Barwood Arena.

The Hurricanes didn’t take a lead until the third period when senior defenseman Cavan Benjamin scored on an unassisted breakaway.

Senior Nolan Morlock led the Hartford comeback with two goals and two assists.

“We certainly didn’t start the game on time today,” said Hartford head coach Todd Bebeau, whose team sits in third place in the VPA Division II rankings. “From our goaltending to defensemen and forwards, we just were disengaged in that first period.”

D-I Rutland (6-8-0) opened the scoring in the first period when junior forward Quincy Corbin found the back of the net with a slapshot from the top right. Less than a minute later, fellow junior Ira Eaton scored in close to make it 2-0.

Less than 30 seconds after Eaton’s tally, Hartford responded as senior forward Nick Daniels found Morlock on a breakaway for a wrist-shot goal that cut the deficit to one.

With less than two minutes left in the period, the visitors re-established a two-goal lead when senior forward Riley Rodrigue scored to make it 3-1.

In the second period, the Hurricanes closed the gap when Morlock found Daniels on a feed in close, and the game stayed 3-2 entering the final period.

In the third, Hartford tied the game when Morlock scored shorthanded with nine minutes left, setting the stage for Benjamin’s heroics.

The Hurricanes played a mostly clean game until a major penalty late in the third period forced them to compete over the last frantic minutes with four skaters. Hartford played tremendous penalty-kill defense to secure the victory.

After being pulled for a brief stint in the first period, goalie Nunu Meyer returned in the second period and didn’t allow another goal. The sophomore finished the game with 26 saves and two goals allowed. Senior Frankie Cushing recorded three saves and one goal allowed in his net time for Hartford.

“We need to have better structure in our defensive zone; we wheel away,” Bebeau said of the team moving forward. “Our back line was doing everything that we’re asking them to do. They’re keeping other teams off the scoreboard. They’re playing responsible hockey. But our skill guys need to understand that there’s two ends of the ice.”

The Hurricanes, who entered the game with back-to-back wins over D-I foes — 2-0 over Burr & Burton on Jan. 25 and 4-3 over South Burlington last Wednesday — improved to 10-4-1 for the season.

Hartford will head on the road for the next four games before returning home to close out the regular season against BBA on Feb. 19 at 6:15 p.m.