Endicott Tripped Up by the Blackhawks, 5-3
Nov. 15, 2003
Despite a strong outing from freshman goaltender Dan Rudy in his second collegiate start, the Gulls failed to get back into the win column when the Boston Junior Blackhawks scored three unanswered third period goals to trip Endicott, 5-3, on Saturday, Nov. 15.
The Blackhawks struck first, when a defensive miscue resulted in a 3-on-1 for Boston. A nice feed from Pete Bruckler sent Jon Pritchard in alone. A quick shift by Pritchard forced Rudy to make the first move, and the Blackhawk forward buried the puck 5-hole. Endicott got the goal right back, after a point shot was blocked in front of Blackhawk goalie Pat Gallager and the puck squirted to the side of the net. Freshman forward Mike Spellman gathered the loose puck, and tucked it in the net to even the score 1-1. Forward Kenny Dargon put the Gulls up by one on a great individual effort. Collecting the puck behind the Blackhawk net, Dargon stickhandled out to the left face-off circle before spinning hard, breaking free on Gallager and roofing a shot over the goalie's shoulder.
The Blackhawks knotted the game up in the second period, after Pete Bruckler 's slap shot from the right point broke under Rudy's pads, and an opportunistic Tom Germano collected the rebound and jammed it home. The Gulls came storming back at the 14 minute mark when assistant captain Ben Kramer got the puck directly from a key face win by Matt Quinn and fired a laser through a screen by Quinn and over Gallager's glove, into the net. Rudy preserved the 3-2 lead with less than three minutes to go in the period with a dazzling save on a 2-on-1 break, when he exploded across his crease to rob the Blackhawks on a point-blank shot, caught the shot in his midsection, and held on to prevent any rebounds.
The third period proved to be the exact opposite of the first game between these two teams, when the Gulls pulled away for a 7-4 win. On this night, however, the Blackhawks didn't fold. At the 6 minute mark, Boston's Joey Daniels and two linemates broke in on a clean 3-on-1, rifled a low, hard shot that Rudy blocked, Daniels scooped up the rebound, however, and flipped it high over Rudy's shoulder to tie the game. Seven minutes later, Brett Doyle of the Blackhawks fired a slap shot from the left point that was going wide until Eric McKenzie, parked at the edge of Endicott's crease, tipped it home for the game-winner. The Gulls stormed back with a flurry of shots, but couldn't put the puck behind Boston's Nick Pierce, who replaced Gallager after Endicott's third goal in the second period. Germano scored the insurance goal into an empty net for the final tally.
The loss dropped Endicott's season record to 3-6-2, and extended the team's winless streak to six. The Gulls aim to return to the winning ways at home against Connecticut College on Saturday, Nov. 22.
FINIS