The men’s ice hockey team got off to a rough start in its first four games this season, coming away with losses against Salem State, Southern Maine University, Trinity and Amherst. Over the holiday weekend, the Cardinals competed in the Luce Tournament held at Connecticut College, where they lost to the Bantams 5-2 and the Lord Jeffs 3-1. Despite the disappointing start, Cardinal players remained positive and confident in the potential of their squad.
“It isn’t any one thing,” said Jarred Gagnon ’07 of the losses. “We’re still mixing up the lines, trying to find out what player combinations work and generally just looking to develop as a team. I can see it out on the ice; we’re just a few steps away from putting together a really solid hockey game.”
Gagnon picked up his first two goals of the season at the tournament, getting one in each contest and collecting two of Wesleyan’s three goals on the weekend. Kevin Armstrong ’08 also put together a strong showing at the tournament as he got the Cardinals on the board first in the loss to Trinity and assisted on Gagnon’s third-period goal against Amherst to cap a two-point weekend.
“You have to take the losses and move on…learn from them,” said captain Chris Gateman ’05. “We’re playing our first games of the season with a lot of new faces and we were close [at times]. We played ourselves into good positions, but didn’t do the things we needed to win.”
Facing off against Trinity on Saturday night, Armstrong’s early goal put Wesleyan on top for only five minutes before an aggressive Bantam attack evened the score on a power play goal. The score on the man advantage was one of two Trinity would net en route to a 4-1 advantage after the first period.
“Trinity is a good team, a ranked team, and they have the kind of program we’re trying to measure ourselves against,” Gateman said. “They went to the goal well, got multiple opportunities, and they were efficient on the power play. Five-on-five, we played them pretty tough though, so those first period penalties hurt us.”
After opening the lead up to four goals with an early second period score, the Bantams were victimized by some precise passing as Gagnon found the back of the net to make it a 5-2 game with 30 minutes to play. Both teams played scoreless defense the remainder of the game, and the Cardinals took the opening round loss.
“The refs in this league are handing out 30 to 40 penalty minutes a game, and special teams are going to be big for everyone,” Gateman said. “There are going to be a lot of guys on the ice this year, and with Will Bennett [’07] leading us on offense, we have to get some kids to step up around him.”
A more consistent defensive effort against Amherst held the Lord Jeffs to only three goals. The Wesleyan offense continued to struggle, however, as the Cardinals picked up their only goal when a Taylor Evans ’07 shot ricocheted in front of the cage and Gagnon recovered and shot to beat the goalie and make it a 3-1 game with three minutes to play. Both teams held fast as the clock ticked down, and Wesleyan took its second loss of the tourney.
“We really peppered the goal during the second period but just couldn’t convert,” Gateman said. “A bounce here or there and we tie or take the lead.”
“We’re not capitalizing on our opportunities,” Gagnon said. “Getting more comfortable on the ice together, taking more shots, seeing more teams…we’re going to be alright.”
Although Trinity and Amherst are NESCAC opponents, the games played at the Luce Tournament do not count towards league standings or as playoff points.
“It was a great experience for everybody,” Gateman said. “We got to see what these teams are all about, but the outcome didn’t have any consequences for our playoff run. You don’t go out and take those games lightly, but you get the goalies and the freshmen a chance to see what we’re looking at and who stands in our way. Everybody played well.”
In the early going, the emphasis has been the development of a youthful team and getting the players some experience. After the season’s opening games, coach Chris Potter and the Cardinals will work on correcting mistakes and advancing the strength of the squad.
“The freshmen have shown they can handle the puck and do the job for us,” Bennett said. “It’s all a matter of coming together now.”
The Cardinals will head to Massachusetts to take on UMass-Boston and Babson this weekend.
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