Gulls drop a heartbreaker to Bridgewater, 4-3

Dec. 2, 2003

So close. So, so close. Despite two goals from junior Joe Dudek, the visiting Gulls squandered a great chance to notch another league win on Tuesday, Dec. 2, when they failed to score on several gleaming opportunities and found themselves on the short side of a 4-3 score against the Bridgewater State College Bears.

Endicott was the first on the board. After sustained pressure in the Bears end, Dudek snapped a shot right off the face-off that eluded Bridgewater goalie Dayce Moore. The Bears got the equalizer with less than two minutes left in the opening stanza. A turnover at the Endicott blue line led to Bridgewater's Ross O'Brien slicing across the slot, where he slipped a backhander past Endicott's sophomore netminder Jeff Pardue.

The second period started on a promising note, with Pardue stonewalling the Bears on several close shots to preserve the 1-1 tie, and freshman Mike Spellman breaking free for a clear shot on goal. Unfortunately, Spellman's forehand bid sailed just wide of the net, and the Bears regrouped. O'Brien notched his second goal of the game on a great individual effort. Collecting the puck at center ice, O'Brien wheeled into the Endicott zone, spun the Gulls defense around before lifting a backhander over Pardue's glove for a 2-1 Bridgewater lead. The Gulls tied the game with some hard work along the boards to keep the puck in the Bridgewater end, before Casey Marini squeezed the puck past Moore. Junior Jason Fall got the assist on Marini's power-play tally. Fall nearly earned a second assist moments later after he sprung Kenny Dargon free with a terrific pass, but Moore smothered Dargon's bid with a superb sliding save.

Despite the momentum of a strong finish to the second period, the Gulls were victimized by another defensive lapse three minutes into the third stanza. Bridgewater's Patrick Adams carried the puck unimpeded into the Endicott zone, shifted to his forehand in the high slot when the Gulls defense failed to react, and fired a rocket into the top left corner, beating Pardue glove side. Endicott's Mark Vaughan nearly tied the game with a nifty move in front of Moore, but the Bears goalie stuffed Vaughan's backhand bid. Dudek got the tying goal after collecting a pass from captain Adam Partaledis, making a nice shift out of the corner to free up his forehand, and firing a shot against the grain that beat Moore to his glove side.

The game-winner came when the Gulls failed to secure a face-off in their own end. Bridgewater's O'Brien picked up the puck and fed it to Bobby Walsh, who fired a stinging slap shot over a fallen Partaledis that found the top right corner of the net, over Pardue's blocker. Endicott finished with 37 shots, but only 23 on target. Meanwhile, Pardue kept the Gulls in the game with 28 saves.

Following the postponement of the Dec. 6 game against Bates College, the Gulls are back in action on Saturday, Dec. 13, at home against Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Gametime is 7 p.m. at the Pingree School's Johnson Rink in Hamilton.

FINIS