Wesleyan men’s ice hockey is back on a hot streak, winning three of its last four games, all of which have been against NESCAC opponents. After swiftly beating Tufts two weekends ago, the Cardinals resumed play against Connecticut College on Tuesday evening, Feb. 8. At the time of the game, the Camels were just above the Cardinals in NESCAC standings. The game was a must-win for Wesleyan to stay in contention for a playoff berth.
The Camels commenced the scoring as they netted two goals in the last two minutes of the first period to take a 2-0 lead after the first intermission. After their slow start, the Cardinals found some momentum in the second period from a goal by Brett Bandazian ’12. The Camels and Cardinals would both see two power play opportunities in the remainder of the second, but neither team converted any goals.
In the third, the Cardinals came out strong, as Geoff Mucha ’12 scored a goal in the first minute of play to even the score at two. The remainder of the third period had a number of tightly contested plays, with both teams trading penalties and power play opportunities. The Cardinals broke the deadlock halfway through the third period on another goal from Mucha. Up 3-2, the Cardinals did well to stay out of the box for the remainder of the game as Conn. racked up four more penalties, while the Cardinals suffered just two.
Following their victory against Conn., the Cardinals made a trip up to Maine where they faced Colby on Friday and Bowdoin on Saturday. Both teams are strong contenders in the NESCAC this season, sporting winning records in conference play.
Colby took an early and formidable lead, going up three goals to none after two periods of play. In the third, Nik Tasiopoulos ’14 got the Cardinals on the board on a power play early in the period. Anthony DePietto ’11 would score just minutes later to close the gap to just one goal with 12 minutes remaining. However, the Cardinals failed to maintain their momentum, and Colby scored again with five minutes remaining, resulting in a 4-2 loss.
The Cardinals next faced Bowdoin, the eighth ranked team in the country for Division III, and formerly the top team in the NESCAC. Despite a tough loss to Colby, Wesleyan didn’t lose faith in their play and knew that they had the skill and heart to defeat the Polar Bears. Bowdoin scored first, but Wes responded quickly off a goal from Nick Craven ’13. Heading into the second period, the teams remained tied at one. It was in the second that Wesleyan would get the Polar Bears on their heels. Captain Tom Salah ’12 scored on a four on four opportunity which gave the Cardinals the lead. Co-Captain Adam Kaiser ’13 would score minutes later to give the Cardinals some cushion with seven minutes remaining in the second. Bowdoin responded with a goal of their own late in the second, only to be neutralized by another Cardinal goal scored by Keith Buehler ’14 just 20 seconds later. With a commanding 4-2 lead in the third period, the Cardinals refused to stop the pressure. Craven would score again just two minutes into the period to put Wesleyan up 5-2. Both teams would exchange one more goal each, with Wesleyan’s final goal coming on an empty-netter from Micah Ehiorobo ’13, giving the Cardinals their first ever win in Brunswick, Me. Helping the Cardinals achieve this historic victory was Matt Hadge ’13, who played an outstanding game in the net, racking up at total of 28 saves.
“We had to come away with at least one win in Maine,” said Craven. “We played well on Friday but lost, so there was a lot of pressure to win against Bowdoin. We’ve struggled on the road this year, having won only one game, so it was challenging to play against Bowdoin in their own rink. We showed a lot of composure though. We were able to shut down their power play and bury our best chances.”
With a decisive win over Bowdoin the Cardinals now find themselves in position to clinch a playoff berth with a win against Trinity on Tuesday.
“Trinity has been playing some really good hockey lately, sweeping Bowdoin and Colby this past weekend,” Craven said, “But we’re on a hot streak of our own, we’re excited to face off with them for the first time this year.”