The Good 5 Cent Cigar

Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Meghan Vendettoli Scranton did not take the loss Saturday night lying down, putting up a fight. In the end, Rhode Island took home a second victory. Above: Senior James Gaffney slides the puck toward the goal.

Media Credit: Meghan Vendettoli made the second score of the night Friday with a slap shot that barely squeaked by the goalie. The Rams won 4-0 Friday night and 6-5 Saturday.

1/30/08 - The University of Rhode Island men's hockey team snapped a two game losing streak over the weekend, dominating a struggling Scranton Royals team.

The Rams improved to 21-11 overall and 13-5 within the league. URI handled them back in the beginning of December in a two-game set, winning by a combined score of 17-2.

Head coach Joe Augustine felt confident going in, even after coming off two consecutive losses at the hands of Delaware last weekend.

"I feel it was the best hockey we have played this year despite the results," Augustine said after Saturday night's 6-5 win.

It seemed the Rams intro music of Hells Bells had hardly stopped playing Saturday night when the shootout got underway. The Purple Royals made the first strike in the third minute with a long slap shot from forward Harry Lawall. URI didn't waste much time in responding when junior Matt Wodecki tied the score at one with a put back goal in the ninth minute. A few minutes later, the Rams managed to knock home a breakaway goal to give them the first period edge.

The Royals came roaring out of the shoot with two goals in the first two minutes of the second period. The teams then traded goals to go into halftime, with URI losing a surprisingly close 4-3 game.

URI then took over in the third period. A slap shot by Ram freshman Kyle Krannich barely slid under the goalie's glove. This slim margin would prove to be pivotal. URI scored two more goals during the period to go up by two. Scranton managed to put one more in the net with five minutes left to put a brief scare into the crowd. A clutch backhand save by Rhody goalie Ray Martin with one minute left finally put the pesky Royals to rest.

"I wish we could have played better tonight," Augustine said. "We will take these victories, but we know we can play at a higher level."

Rhode Island hosts Pennsylvania State University this Friday and Saturday where they will continue their playoff push.

Since a promising 11-0 start, it has been an up and down rollercoaster ride for the Rams. They have only been able to put a solitary three-game winning streak together since that point and would love to regain some of the early season magic going down the stretch.

There are only four games left on the schedule and if Rhody can put together a hot finish it will clearly help the team's mindset going into the postseason. They got the playoff push underway on Friday night with a rather effortless looking 4-0 defeat of the Royals. Things did not go quite as smoothly Saturday when they were only able to pull out a narrow 6-5 win.

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