The men’s hockey team wrapped up the regular season this past weekend, losing its two final road games of the season. The Cards will still have the opportunity to play in the upcoming NESCAC playoffs.
Friday night the team took on the Castleton State College Spartans, who came in having won five in a row and without a loss in their last eight games. They were relentless with the Cardinals and backup goaltender Tim Archibald ’10 right from the start, scoring two goals in each period, ending with a 6-0 victory.
Things looked to be turning around on Saturday at Skidmore College, where the Cardinals jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on the Thoroughbreds with goals from Mike Dorsey ’08 and Anthony DePietto ’11. Skidmore countered with two goals of its own to tie it up at 2-2 after the first period.
Dan Sullivan ’11 tallied his second goal of the season to help the Cardinals regain the lead, before Skidmore scored again. David Layne ’10 added to his team-leading goal total (10) to bring the score to 4-3 as the teams headed into the locker room for the second intermission.
The Cardinals held the lead for the first half of the period before the Thoroughbreds knotted the game at 4. With just over a minute remaining, Skidmore took its first lead of the game, and held it to the finish for a 5-4 victory.
With the two losses, the Cardinals’ record dropped to 8-12-3 overall, 6-10-3 in conference. With 15 points, they will head to this weekend’s playoffs as the number eight seed, and will travel to take on the top seed in the conference, Colby College.
“Playing a road playoff game is obviously not something you work for during the season, but that does not change our mentality and game plan,” said Captain Brenton Stafford ’08. “Whether we are home or away we still have to come out and compete to win.”
It will be familiar territory for the Cardinals, as the two teams met on Feb. 16. Wesleyan jumped out to a 2-0 lead midway through the second period, but Colby scored two goals of its own to send the game to overtime. The Mules were able to find the back of the net, as NESCAC scoring leader T.J. Kelley ’08 assisted Arthur Fritch ’08 for the game-winner, giving Colby a 3-2 victory.
Because the two teams have met before, it will be up to good game planning during the long week ahead.
“Since we have a week, it gives us a chance to concentrate only on that one game,” Stafford said. “We are able to adjust our style of play, which is an advantage, but the other team has the same opportunity. A lot will come down to how well we prepare during the week.”
When the two teams take the ice on Saturday at 4 p.m., the Cardinals will be looking to win their first NESCAC playoff game since the league was created in 1999. The winner will advance to take on the winner of the Connecticut College/Amherst game in the semifinals during the following weekend.
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