Gulls Overcome Penalties, Engineers

Dec. 6, 2004

The Endicott Gulls pulled themselves out of a mid-season tailspin last Saturday (Dec. 4) with a gutsy 6-3 victory over the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a game that Coach Brian Wylie labeled a "must win" for the team. To do so, the Gulls had to overcome a rash of questionable penalty calls and a great individual effort by MIT's Mike Kozlowski, whose hat trick single-handedly kept his team in the game.

Having lost four of their last five games (including three straight league losses), the Gulls came out firing on all cylinders against the Engineers. Captain Adam Partaledis, following up on his strong two-goal effort against the Holy Cross Crusaders, got Endicott on the board first with a typical gritty play. Driving hard to the net while freshman defenseman Mike Ripley teed up a blast from the left point, Partaledis collected the rebound and stuffed it past MIT goaltender Tom Hopkins. Junior netminder Jeff Pardue kept the gulls in the game for the remainder of the first period with several big stops during four straight MIT power plays (the first of eight straight penalties called against the Gulls).

Endicott's Mike Manfredi gave the Gulls a little breathing room three and a half minutes into a wild second stanza, finishing off a nice play that started with freshman D'arcy Wiart pinching along the left boards to keep the puck in the MIT zone. EC's Chris Garofalo collected the biscuit and zipped it to Manfredi, who was breaking down the center slot. Outmuscling an MIT defender, Manfredi got his stick to the puck first and tipped it past Hopkins for a 2-0 lead. Ninety seconds later, Kozlowski got his first goal on yet another MIT power play, digging the puck out of a scramble in front of Pardue and popping a backhander into the net. Aaron Cooper and Brian LaCross collected the assists.

The Gulls regained their 2-goal margin thanks to the hard work of assistant captain Joe Dudek, who sweep-checked the puck into the MIT zone and then chased it down. Line mate Mark Vaughan, following on the play, got the puck and slipped it to Partaledis, who spotted Dudek at the corner of the net. Dudek took the Partaledis pass and snapped it five-hole past Hopkins, chasing the MIT goalie from the game. However, the Gulls weren't able to take advantage of Hopkins replacement, Adam Miller, who came into the game without warm-ups. Instead, the Gulls found themselves victimize by a series of penalties, some legitimate, some baffling. Just past the 13-minute mark, Pardue made a tremendous sprawling save during a 5-on-3 MIT power play, but the Engineers got within one a half-minute later, as Kozlowski found a loose puck by the side of the crease and tucked it home. The Gulls barely had a chance to blink when, 10 seconds later, Kozlowski struck again, converting a slick centering pass from Rich Lean and burying the puck low stick-side past Pardue. MIT nearly went ahead with 90 seconds left in the period, but the Gulls dodged that bullet when a point shot deflected off Pardue, hit the post and bounced back to the EC goalie.

The Gulls managed to regroup in the third period, and started taking the play to the Engineers. Endicott went up 4-3 after assistant captain Derek Gagnon flipped a shot on net from the right point. Miller made the initial save, but EC freshman Dennis Uhlman got to the rebound first and roofed it over the MIT goalie for the eventual game-winner. Just past the 11-minute mark, Pardue made a dandy pad save on a deflected shot from the point, which led directly to Dudek's second goal of the game. Showing his trademark hustle, Dudek beat the Engineers to the puck behind the MIT goal line, and flashed a quick shot that caught Miller off his post. The puck ricocheted off the MIT and into the goal, giving the Gulls some insurance. Endicott killed off one last penalty with three minutes to go, and Partaledis sealed the win with an empty net tally off a nice feed from Dudek with only seconds left, giving the Gulls a regular season sweep over the Engineers.

Endicott's final game before the semester break will be held at home on Saturday (Dec. 11) against Bates College. The game will start at 7 p.m. at the Pingree School in Hamilton.