Men’s hockey hosted two tough league games this past weekend, taking on the Middlebury Panthers and the Ephs from Williams. Despite a strong effort, the men had some mental lapses and short letdowns and the competition jumped all over the Cardinals, as the team dropped both matches.
“It was a tough weekend. We played good teams,” said Taylor Evans ’07. “At this point we are trying to see how high we go in the rankings. We would like to get into a better position and use this past weekend to get better.”
The first loss came on Friday night as the Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead en route to a 7-1 victory. Middlebury (19-2-0, 13-2-0 ECAC/NESCAC East) has claimed the top seed for the upcoming playoffs, and came to Middletown as heavy favorites. Both teams created offensive chances early in the game, but the Panthers were able to capitalize while the Cardinals could not.
“Friday night we played a very good Middlebury team,” said coach Chris Potter. “I thought our players competed very hard. We made three or four mistakes in the first period and they made them count. We created some very good scoring chances in the first but could not finish on them.”
Middlebury continued to create good opportunities throughout the game. Goalie Jim Panczykowski ’04 faced 43 shots, and was able to garner 36 saves. The Cardinals only managed twelve shots in the game, scoring the lone goal in the second period. While the Panthers had a power play, forward Steve Bogosian ’04 netted his ninth goal of the season on an assist by John DelGiudice ’07.
The team faced another strong opponent on Saturday as Williams (11-7-3, 10-5-1 ECAC/NESCAC East) came to visit. The team played well at times, and the score stood at 1-1 after the first period. Although the Ephs struck first, the Cardinals were able to come right back on a goal by captain Brian Maynes ’04, with assists by Casey Benny ’04 and Grant Savage ’04.
The second period brought trouble for the Cardinals, as the close game from the first period disappeared. The floodgates opened while the Cards were killing a penalty. After a failed attempt to clear the puck, three Wes skaters headed to the bench, looking for a line change. At the other end of the rink, the Ephs had a three on one opportunity that they easily converted to regain the lead.
“We played very well in the first, but had a six-minute let down in the second,” Potter said. “We gave up four unanswered goals.”
The game was out of hand by the time Wes managed to get back on the scoreboard in the final period. Forward Will Bennett ’07 scored an unassisted goal on the power play to cut the lead to 5-2, before the Ephs scored once more before the end. Bennett’s goal was his team leading fifteenth on the year, and also added to his team lead in points with twenty-five on the season.
The team certainly had copious support despite the rough weekend. The Saturday game was the final home game of the season, and twelve seniors said good bye to home ice. The crowd, joined by the pep band, with hopes of the first Little Three championship title for the men’s team created an exciting atmosphere for the send-off.
The squad looks to bring the excitement with them next weekend, as they travel to Conn. College on Friday and Tufts on Saturday. The Cardinals (8-9-4, 6-7-3 ECAC/NESCAC East) stand alone in seventh in the league, and need to win one game this weekend to guarantee a spot in the playoffs. Tufts and Conn. College are the bottom two teams in the league standings, so the Cardinals have a good opportunity to right their ship before the playoffs begin.
“We gave up 13 goals on the weekend and it is not the direction we want to be going in at this point in the season,” Potter said. “We need to be better in our zone and tougher to play against.”
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