APEX — Apex coach John Hayden knew that the longer Apex let Cary hang around, the more trouble it could mean for the Cougars.

That’s why the he was especially pleased to see the Cougars much hungrier coming out of the gate to start the second quarter on March 25 after leading the Imps just 2-1 after one period.

Apex scored three goals in less than five minutes to start the second period to grab the game’s momentum and push the Cougars to a 10-1 victory.

“That’s one of the things we talked about. Apex-Cary is an emotional game in any sport. We wanted to get out on them,” Hayden said. “The longer it stayed a tight game, we knew it could be a long night.”

Parker Wilson scored two goals for the Cougars in the first period.

Cary’s Bryan Ulma got one back for the Imps to keep it tight at 2-1 after one.

However, Apex’s Joe Nugent, John Szep, Chris Kuntarich and Connor Tyo each chipped in second-quarter goals as the Cougars shifted their focus and turned it up a notch.

“We just started seeing stuff. We talked about a few things in the break,” Hayden said. “They tuned in a bit and they saw a few open things.”

In the second half, Apex controlled the ball and controlled the game, though they wouldn’t score again until late in third quarter.

Thomas Gregory scored the first of his two goals when he rifled a shot past the Cary goalie’s head with just more than three minutes remaining in the third period.

Then Will Doyle sent a shot to the left corner of the net to stretch Apex’s lead to 8-1.

Gregory scored again in the fourth, and the Cougars added two goals in the quarter that made it the final 10-1.

“We were pretty sharp tonight. We saw some things and they tuned in,” Hayden said. “We did a pretty good job on offense. I felt we were patient and shot the ball pretty well.”

Conversely, Cary coach Bob Cappilletti was pleased with his team, which graduated 18 seniors last year, for hanging tough with the Cougars for a big chunk of the first half.

“I’m pretty proud of our kids,” Cappilletti said. “We had our moments where we were awfully competitive and I’m proud. We’ll build on that.”