Following two ties this weekend, the men’s ice hockey team picked up a big 3-2 home victory against Trinity on Tuesday, propelling the Cardinals all the way up to fifth place in the NESCAC standings with six games remaining.
David Layne ’10 netted the go-ahead goal early in the third period with the score tied 1-1, to move his team-leading total to seven goals on the year. Dallas Bossort ’09 notched up the third Wesleyan goal late in the period, and a late Trinity goal put the game at the final score of 3-2.
“It is crucial to beat our NESCAC opponents, since it is likely that we will be tied with one or more of them come playoff time,” said assistant captain Kevin Armstrong ’08.
Last weekend, the Cardinals played two important home games against Middlebury and Williams and were able to come away with two points, tying each game 2-2.
Friday night against the Panthers, ranked fifth nationally, assistant captain Mike Dorsey ’08 scored the first goal for the Cardinals, giving the team a 1-0 lead in the first period. Middlebury scored one in the second and one early in the third to lead 2-1, but Layne tipped in a shot from Scott Burns ’09 with just 22 seconds remaining to tie the game at two and force overtime. The teams played to a tie through the five-minute extra period, a big accomplishment for Wesleyan, after Middlebury had come into the game with 10 straight victories.
Goalie Mike Palladino ’09 had a very solid game, saving 34 of 36 shots, and J.J. Evans ’09 added two assists.
Saturday afternoon, the Cardinals played the Williams Ephs to a 2-2 tie, after leading 2-0 in the second period. Anthony DePietto ’11 scored his third goal of the season to kick off the scoring for Wesleyan, followed by a goal by Kevin Armstrong ’08. Williams countered with two goals of its own, including the game-tying goal in a 4-on-4 situation midway through the third period.
Palladino had another solid game, saving 39 of 41 shots, and Brian Erenson ’08, Woody Redpath ’10, John Wierzba ’09 and Brent Winship ’09 each notched assists.
Looking ahead, the team travels to Connecticut College and Tufts this weekend, with each game becoming increasingly more important. With 13 points in NESCAC play, the Cardinals are in possession of fifth place, but ninth-place Tufts is only four points behind. Conn. College is eighth in the conference with ten points. The two road games could go a long way to clearing up the playoff picture.
“With most of our NESCAC competition coming up down the stretch of our season, we need to continue to win points every weekend,” Armstrong said.
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