With only six games remaining in the regular season, the men’s hockey team will need to throw it into high gear and leave the frustration of a tough season behind them, as they make ready for the final push toward a postseason berth.
Coming off a string of losses to Bowdoin (7-1), Colby (8-3) and Trinity (5-3), three of the NESCAC’s top teams, the Cardinals have fallen to the bottom of the conferencee standings and into a position where only their season’s best hockey will be able to carry them into the playoffs. Lone senior and captain Chris Gateman has remained positive and optimistic over the course of the year, and still sees hope for the young club as they prepare for a must-have weekend.
“We took good things out of that Trinity game,” Gateman said. “We played with a lot of emotion, and that intensity saw us take a lead into the third period against the league’s number one. Win or lose, the game rejuvenated some hope in this team.”
Trinity scored two quick goals to eclipse a 3-2 Wesleyan lead early in the third period, and then added an insurance tally with five minutes to play to seal a 5-3 win on Tuesday night. Mike Dorsey ’08 contributed to all three Cardinal goals of the night, netting a pair and finding Taylor Evans ’07 for the third to pick up an assist. The freshman forward has emerged as one of Wesleyan’s top threats of late, tallying four goals and five points over the last three games. The team’s youthfulness has been the story of the season, and while it may have been a source of some weakness early on, new faces have shown themselves to be valuable and explosive parts of this Cardinal team.
Dorsey’s line mates Brian Erensen ’08 and Kevin Armstrong ’08 have made a living off of their teammate’s goal scoring tear, assisting on all four of Dorsey’s goals and six of the team’s seven scores over the last week.
“Dorsey’s a quiet leader,” Gateman said. “He just goes out, plays unafraid, and does the work. It’s taken some time, but the freshmen are starting to mature. The young guys are the future of this program, so it’s nice to see new lines making things happen because the team is going to be able to work with that for the next three years.”
The schedule for the coming weeks sees the Cardinals take on Castleton State and Skidmore at home this weekend; get on the road for a pair against Middlebury and Williams; and then return home to take on Tufts and Conn. College in the season’s final weekend. The top eight teams in the league earn a spot in the NESCAC playoffs, and with Wes sitting in 10th place, Conn. College in ninth and Tufts situated in eighth are the two teams standing between the Cardinals and a playoff berth.
“We’re going to have to win out in the final weekend,” Gateman said. “Our schedule won’t be as tough in this final stretch as [Conn. and Tufts], so we’ll focus on the games at hand, try to pick up some points, and put ourselves in the best position to end up in the mix.”
With the two-team roadblock coming to town for the weekend of Feb. 18, the Cardinals may have the chance to add some drama to what has been a season of disappointment and hardship.
The Cardinals take on Castleton State at 7 p.m. Friday night, and take on Skidmore Saturday at 3 p.m. Make sure to catch hockey at home in two of its last four match-ups.
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