The men’s hockey team skated one step closer to their goal of home ice advantage in the first round of NESCACs with a 3-1 win over the Skidmore Thoroughbreds. With Friday night’s game against Castleton University cancelled due to inclement weather, the Cardinals were fresh and ready to go Saturday afternoon at Saratoga Springs, NY to take on Skidmore. The win improved their record to 8-7-4 overall (6-5-3 ECAC NESCAC/East Division).
“We had a big win on the road Saturday. We did a good job of controlling the puck and putting pressure on them down low,” said head coach Chris Potter. “We were working the puck low and we had two great line changes.”
“We needed this win because it’s going into the final four game stretch with Middlebury, Williams, Conn.College, and Tufts,” said forward Al Shaine ’04. “We need to start thinking about our place in the playoffs, making sure that we secure it.”
The Cardinals came out with lightening on their wings, with team leading scorer Will Bennett ’07 finding the net on assists from Shaine and Casey Benny ’04 at the 16:29 mark of the first period. The Thoroughbreds responded in the second period with a power play goal to tie the game at 1-1. Not to be outdone, the Cardinals’ captain Brian Maynes ’04 earned his fourteenth point of the season with a goal assisted by Steve Bogosian ’04 with under a minute to play in the second period. The Cardinals sealed the deal with a third period goal by Shaine. Goalie Jim Panczykowski ’04 saved Wes again by recording 25 saves on the night. Despite being out-shot 26-19, the Cardinals still managed to walk away with the win.
“We did what we needed to do in our game against Skidmore to come away with two important points in the NESCAC standings,” Maynes said. “The game wasn’t pretty, but we worked hard all game and didn’t loose focus of what was at stake. That win kept us in the hunt for a home playoff spot.”
“We got out-shot, but we managed to control the flow of the game; most of the game we were in control,” Shaine said. “Skidmore is a pretty good challenge, they work hard and they don’t give up when they are behind. They are not a walkover; they are a good team. It is an important win because we want to go into next weekend with momentum. We would like to win the Little Three on Saturday [against Williams].”
Next up for the Cardinals are two more NESCAC games. Friday night they will face the Middlebury College Panthers and then in a Valentine’s Day showdown, Little Three rival Williams comes to Freeman Athletic Center. Both teams present challenges for the Cards. The Panthers pace the NESCAC with a 17-2 overall record (12-2 NESCAC). Not to be outdone, the Ephs are the third seed and are coming off a 4-3 win over Amherst.
“Middlebury is the best team in the conference and is playing well. We have been playing well at home and I expect our players to battle and compete in both games,” Potter said. “[On Saturday] the Little Three is on the line and from what I have been told we have not won the Little Three in a while. It would be special for the seniors to leave Wesleyan with the Little Three Championship and play in the playoffs for the first time.”
Saturday’s game against Williams is also senior day for the Cardinals and they will be honoring the 10 seniors who have led the team this season.
“We have been very appreciative of the outstanding support throughout this season and hope it will continue this weekend. Again, the fan support has been great this year, and these two games should be great entertainment,” Maynes said.
For the record, the last time the men’s team defeated Williams was in the ’81-’82 season, when the Cards came away with a 3-2 victory.
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