Gulls Fight Back to Tie Coast Guard, 3-3

Nov. 7, 2003

The Gulls were able to shake off the doldrums of a three-hour bus drive and rebound for a tough 3-3 tie against a disciplined Coast Guard Academy team in New London on Friday, Nov. 7.

The Bears of the CGA struck first, only a minute into the game, when John Ferriera tipped a blast from the point by Dewey Worker past Endicott's Jeff Pardue. Less than five minutes later, the Gulls found themselves in a 2-0 hole on a fluke goal, when CGA's Blake Alspach sent a wide-angle shot toward the low slot that ricocheted off of Scott Vaughn's stick and into the top right corner of the net. That second goal seemed to snap the Gulls out of their collective daze, and Endicott started taking the play to the Coast Guard. With a little more than five minutes left in the opening stanza, the hard work paid off as Endicott's Mark Vaughan slipped the puck past CGA's Brian Bruns, cutting the Bears' lead in half.

In the second period, the Bears again stretched their lead to two, with a goal at the 8:25 mark by Worker. Endicott's first line came up big with 41/2 minutes left in the period, as winger Casey Marini converted passes from center Jason Fall and captain Adam Partaledis to get the Gulls back to within one. A minute and half later, the Gulls pounced quickly on a CGA interference penalty. Second line forward Kenny Dargon took a slick feed from Ryan Foley, cut sharply to the net, froze Bruns with a quick shift and buried the puck to knot the score at three apiece.

The third period and overtime was a showcase for Endicott's Pardue and CGA's Bruns, with each goaltender making several point-blank stops. The Gulls began hitting on all cylinders, and clearly had momentum on their side, outshooting the Bears 25-7 over the final stanza and the five-minute overtime. Unfortunately, none of those shots found the back of the net, and the Gulls had to settle for the tie and the single point, bringing their season record to 3-2-2.

FINIS