c/o Steve McLaughlin
The men’s hockey team’s winning streak has been extended to five games as they defeated Williams and Middlebury on Feb. 6 and Albertus Magnus College on Feb. 8. As a result, the team now has a record of 10–8–2 and 8–4–2 in NESCAC play. This latest stretch of games began with a 3–0 shutout win over Williams after the Cards lost to them 6–1 earlier in the season.
Up against the Ephs, the Cards were able to get on the board first in the second period as forward Go Uemura ’23 scored his third goal of the season to put them up 1–0. The Red and Black then doubled their lead just two minutes later when defender Jake Lachance ’23 scored his second goal of the season to give the Cardinals a two-goal lead heading into the second intermission. In the third, the Wesleyan defense and goalie Marc Smith ’24 did not let Williams get on the scoreboard, and the Red and Black added an empty-net goal from Tyler Levine ’22 late in the period to cement the victory. Offensively, the Cards put up 18 shots, and in goal, Smith was stellar as he stopped all 24 Williams shots to secure the shutout.
Following the win over the Ephs, the Cards took on Middlebury on the road, whom they defeated by a score of 5–2 to sweep the season series. The Red and Black got off to a fast start against the Panthers as they scored three first-period goals to take a 3–0 lead heading into the first intermission. Forward Wiggle Kerbrat ’23 got the scoring started under 10 minutes into the game. His goal was followed by a second goal from Alex Giummo ’23 just two minutes later. This gave them a two-goal advantage before Matt Zandi ’21 MA ’22 added the third Cardinal goal on the power play toward the end of the period.
In the second period, Middlebury answered with two goals of their own to trail Wesleyan by one after two periods. However, the Red and Black were able to restore their three-goal advantage in the third on goals from Owen Sweet ’25 and Kerbrat, who scored his second goal of the game on an empty net to close out the 5–2 win. Wesleyan’s team was efficient as it scored five goals on 17 shots, and Smith had another strong game in goal as he stopped 30 of 32 Panther shots. Because of his efforts in goal across the two NESCAC wins, Smith was named NESCAC Player of the Week.
After the huge conference weekend on the road, the Cardinals returned home for their final non-conference game of the season as they took on and beat Albertus Magnus College with a score of 5–1. Against the Falcons, the Cards struck first once again as Kerbrat scored yet another goal just six minutes into the game. Lachance followed that up with a goal of his own in the final minute of the first, with Wesleyan holding the 2–0 lead heading into the second period. The beginning of the second period transpired just like the first as Wesleyan scored another quick goal in the early part of the frame courtesy of Sweet to go up 3–0. Albertus Magnus responded with a goal of its own to cut the lead to 3–1 before Emmet Powell ’23 scored to restore the Red and Black’s three-goal advantage heading into the third. In the third, Wesleyan added a fifth goal as Stevie O’Connor ’22 scored on the power play a little over three minutes in to round out the scoring in a 5–2 victory. As a team, Wesleyan scored three power play goals and outshot the Falcons 40–22, and goalie Erik Voloshin ’24 made 24 saves in the victory.
Overall, coach Chris Potter was happy with how the team looked across the three games.
“I thought we played hard and we executed a little better,” Potter said. “We have definitely improved in the defensive zone over the past three weeks. Lastly, goaltending and special teams were good.”
Smith echoed these thoughts about the team’s effort.
“When there is a group of guys in front of you that buys into everything we work on, it leads to success,” Smith wrote in a message to The Argus. “We’ve proven that over the last three games.”
In particular, Smith highlighted the team’s focus and and attention to detail as key reasons for its victory against Williams after having lost to the Ephs in their first meeting.
“Going over X’s and O’s always helps before a game like that,” Smith wrote. “However, the true focus was on us…playing our game, and playing it hard. What happened in the past was out of our control. However, the way we approached the second game was not. We were on a mission, we were confident, and it showed.”
Next up, the Cards look to extend this winning streak even further as they take on Colby on Feb. 11 and then Bowdoin the next day. Both games will be played at home. Smith says the key to continued success is to just keep playing their game at a high level.
“Games are close in this league and you have to give every team the same respect,” Smith wrote. “Therefore, the key for this weekend is no different than any other: play hard Wesleyan hockey. However, attention to detail in our game is vital. With the season winding down, it only gets harder to win from here. The smallest details can make the biggest differences. That being said, I am excited for our group to battle it out.”
David Gottlieb can be reached at dgottlieb@wesleyan.edu.