A lack of consistent effort has resulted in only one victory and two ties in the past ten games for the men’s hockey team. The team had a rough start to the winter vacation with losses to Salem State College, UMASS-Dartmouth, and New England College. After these difficult defeats at the hands of solid Division III competition, Wesleyan rebounded with a crucial 2-1 win over St. Anslem.

But since then, the past two games have been disappointing for the Cardinals as they fell to two NESCAC rivals in Williams and Middlebury.

“We know that if we learn to play a more consistent game, and play hard for all sixty minutes, we can compete with any team in the country, no matter who it is,” said goaltender Mike Palladino ’09 following his team’s victory over heavily favored St. Anslem.

Brenton Stafford ’08 opened up the scoring against St. Anslem at 14:50 into the first period with an assist from Mike Dorsey ’08. Unfortunately, St. Anslem responded quickly with a power play goal by Brian Dobler ’07, with an assist from Chris O’Brien ’08.

Following the score, the Wesleyan defense tightened up and held the opponent scoreless for the remainder of the contest. Palladino had 23 saves in the game, including eight big ones in the crucial third period where the Cardinals took the lead for good, as Kevin Armstrong ’08 scored the winner 10:08 into the third period on a pass from Dorsey. The Cardinal defense held the lead through a man down situation late in the final period to secure the victory.

After their victory against St. Anslem, the team dropped a tough 4-0 loss to Norwich, followed by a tie against St. Michael’s (1-1). Will Bennett ’07 scored the tying goal with just over three minutes to go in the third period. Palladino put forth another strong individual effort in the game, allowing only one goal and racking up 35 saves, including 15 in the third period.

Thus far, one of the highlights of the team’s season is Dallas Bossert ’09, who ranks second in the conference in goal scoring for defensemen with eight goals, and third in goal scoring for all freshmen in the NESCAC. Another first-year player that is shining in his first season at Wesleyan is goaltender Palladino. He ranks fourth in the NESCAC in goals against average allowing only 2.77 per game, and fourth in save percentage at .913. In contrast to its sluggish offense, Wesleyan has the second best scoring defense, allowing only 2.75 goals per game.

When the Cardinals are able to convert on their offensive possessions, their defense allows the squad to stay competitive with virtually any team on its schedule. Despite its sub-par record, Wesleyan has competed well in most of the games this season.

The Cardinals will look to find more success in the future as they finishes out their NESCAC schedule. The Cardinals will host NESCAC rival Trinity College tonight at 7:00 p.m. Trinity is one spot ahead of the Cardinal’s in the conference standings, with a record of 7-8-2 (4-6-2 NESCAC).