Long, Strange Trip Ends On A Sour Note Against Wildcats
Nov. 23, 2004
If you believe in omens, then the fact that the bus driver couldn't find the Endicott College campus last Friday was a bad sign for the Gulls hockey team. After the bus arrived, departed, then circled back to campus after the cargo doors were left open, the Gulls and all their equipment finally made it to the Dover Ice Arena in New Hampshire for their Friday night fight with the UNH Wildcats. Unfortunately, the Gulls had trouble finding their game against the well-balanced UNH squad, which employed an efficient mix of power and precision to fluster Endicott all night long and come away with a well-deserved 5-2 win.
The Wildcats took the play straight to Endicott from the first face-off, and rarely backed off. The opening five minutes featured end-to-end action, with junior goalie Jeff Pardue making a huge breakaway save four minutes in. UNH struck first at the 8:39 mark, when Oakley Clark shook off a check by assistant captain Derek Gagnon, then took a nice feed from Jeff Kneebone and slipped the puck past Pardue to finish a lightning 2-on-1 break. Pardue kept the Wildcats at bay with a number of top-notch stops in close, including three robberies during a 5-on-3 UNH power play. But with less than four minutes left in the period, a slow whistle allowed UNH's Mark Rando to take an extra swipe at a puck that Pardue appeared to have covered, and the biscuit slid into the net for a 2-0 Wildcat lead.
The Gulls showed more spark at the beginning of the second period, but UNH goalkeeper Nick Simon was equal to the task, making several dazzling saves less than two minutes in, and then stuffing Endicott's Mark Vaughan on a shorthanded breakaway with 5:30 gone. UNH countered quickly, and just before the 8-minute mark, Eric Canzanello blistered a quick shot from the left harsh marks that seemed to freeze Pardue, beating him high glove side for the eventual game-winner. Minutes later, Pardue made three spectacular saves to keep the Gulls close, but the period ended with Endicott unable to solve Simon or UNH's physical, disciplined style.
Endicott rallied in the third period, showing the same heart that launched a 7-game unbeaten streak to open the season, but each time the Gulls would cut into the UNH lead, the opportunistic Wildcats would strike right back. At 5:40, freshman Chris Garofalo, scratching and clawing in front of the UNH net, snapped a shot from the right slot that beat Simon and got the Gulls on the board. Two minutes later, after a flurry in from of the Endicott net, the puck was sent to the left point, where UNH's Matt Criscuolo fired a blast on goal. Pardue made a dandy left toe save, but Wildcat Derek Smyrl rammed home the rebound. Endicott's Joe Dudek, shaking off an injured left wrist, got the Gulls back within one during an Endicott power play, collecting the puck out of a scramble and popping it into the UNH cage. But UNH had a lightning quick reply, as Canzanello broke down the right side on his off wing, found a sliver of daylight over Pardue's left shoulder, and rifled the puck top-self to end the scoring and any hope of an Endicott comeback.
The Gulls next league game is Thursday, Dec. 2, on the road against the College of the Holy Cross, a rematch of the epic 4-4 stalemate played out in Hamilton on Nov. 6. The next home game for Endicott comes on Saturday, Dec. 4, against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the Pingree School in Hamilton. Game time is 7 p.m.