Andrew Lipari wrote this well-done article for this week's Stylus...
Brockport puts Mustangs on ice in overtime
By: Andrew Lipari
Posted: 11/11/09
Brockport's ice hockey team opened its 2009-2010 home campaign with an overtime win against the Morrisville Mustangs Friday, Nov. 6. Sean O'Malley's goal 27 seconds into overtime gave Brockport their first win of the year. Morrisville's hockey program is only in its fifth year and has struggled since their inauguration. They finished 5-19-1 last year, with a 1-14-1 record in SUNYAC play.
Brockport won both games against Morrisville last year, so it's no surprise they might have taken a victory over the Mustangs for granted. It showed in the first two periods, as Brockport trailed 3-2 in the second intermission. "I think Morrisville got our attention," head coach Brian Dickinson said. "We knew we needed to match their intensity and their work ethic, and if we did that our talent would take over. We didn't do a very good job of that the first two periods, but as the game went on I thought we took control."
After losses to Potsdam and Plattsburgh last weekend, Brockport's first win of the year came in front of a robust home crowd at Tuttle North arena. "Like they say, the first win is the hardest to get," Dickinson said. "The first game against Potsdam was a typical first game, but we let it get away from us late. We played as well as we've played in a while at Plattsburgh but they tacked on a couple late, like they do. I thought the effort we brought would beat a lot of teams in our league. Hopefully we can watch some more tape and get a little more energy and hopefully keep it going."
Brockport's special team struggles showed again when Morrisville scored short-handed at 11:28 in the first period. Andrew Alarie wristed the shot up high past Todd Sheridan.
Brockport captain Justin Noble backhanded a shot off a rebound to tie the score with five minutes left in the period. Ray Tremblay and James Cody were given the assists. Tremblay had three assists on the night.
After a few hashes, Dan Galiani jammed in Brockport's second goal, but Adam Laite scored twice in the second period to give Morrisville a 3-2 lead.The second of Laite's goals came short-handed, again, off a turnover in the Golden Eagle zone. Laite was standing in front of the net and jammed in the go-ahead goal. Morrisville had gone 2-for-7 on Brockport's power play, but the Golden Eagles turned it around in the third period. O'Malley's beautiful feed from behind the net led to James Cody's goal with the man advantage with 10 minutes left to tie the game.
With 53 seconds left in regulation, Morrisville's Stefan Carnegie took a boarding penalty that carried into overtime. Brockport raced down the ice and 27 seconds into overtime, O'Malley put in a slap shot to win it for the Golden Eagles. Defensively, Morrisville's junior goalie Caylin Relkoff had 34 saves, while Sheridan had 25 for Brockport.
In Brockport's second game of the weekend, Saturday Nov. 7 they lost 4-1 to Hobart in a non-conference game. Hobart is ranked fifth in the nation (according to uscho.com), which makes them Brockport's second top-five team they have played this season.
Brockport played flat, soft and out of sync for most of the game. They got down fast when Daniel Organ scored for Hobart 28 seconds into the game.
"We put some new guys in the lineup and sometimes guys think it's more of an exhibition game," Dickinson said. "We hope they don't think that way, but since we weren't harping on them all day about taking the two points, they were a little too relaxed."
The non-conference game meant there were different bodies in the line up. Oliver Wren got the start in goal over Sheridan. Wren got the start last year against Hobart in a 3-2 loss, when Hobart won on a controversial goal. Wren had 38 saves in the game.
"We hung him out to dry a couple times," Dickinson said. "He will be the first to say he should have controlled a couple of those rebounds better but he stood tall and gave us a chance to win and compete. It's a tough call starting your first game against a nationally-ranked opponent, but it would have been nice to put a couple in and make them tighten up a little bit."
Wren would have liked to have a few of those shots back."There were two I may have been able to have" Wren said. "I just like to correct the mistakes I make. We'll review it on tape and I'll work from there."
Already up 1-0, Christopher Bower scored to take a two goal lead. He also had two assists on the night. Tom Galiani scored Brockport's lone goal just as a power play expired. Chris Cannizzaro and Nick Decroo scored in the second period, which gave Hobart the 4-1 lead and the win.
Nick Broadwater looked comfortable in goal, making 22 saves. With their first win behind them, Brockport looks to build off last year's fourth place finish as they move deeper into their schedule.
Source:
http://media.www.thestylus.net/media/storage/paper1380/news/2009/11/11/Sports/Brockport.Puts.Mustangs.On.Ice.In.Overtime-3827818.shtml#4
