Men's hockey sweeps Navy

10/08/08 - The University of Rhode Island men's hockey team won both games against the United States Navy Academy this weekend. The first of the two game series was Friday night, Oct. 3. The Rams seemed to be in control early in the first period, out-shooting Navy 12-11. Though the Rams outshot Navy, with six minutes left in the first period, Navy broke the 0-0 tie when senior Charlie Daniel landed a backhanded shot that found its way past URI goalie junior Andrew Lisi.

With 4:51 left in the first period, Navy senior Jeff Dubinksy scored another goal with an assist from senior Eric Bowen. His shot went top shelf, right above Lisi's left shoulder. The first period ended with the Rams trailing Navy, 2-0.

The Rams seemed energized in the beginning of the second period. The teams controlled most of the action in the second period, outshooting Navy 17-6.

Rhode Island got on the board in the second period, coming with 11:12 left to play. On a power play, freshman Richie Falasca passed to sophomore Paul Doran for the assist. Doran took the slap shot near the blue line, getting his first goal of the season.

Navy countered later in the period, when freshman Kevin Frederick scored on a power play with 2:21 left in the period-unassisted.

They outshot Navy, 15-7. The Rams scored their second goal of the night with 19:35 left in the game. Freshman Evan Dietz set up freshman Mike O'Brien for his first goal of the season, making the score 3-2.

Less than 10 minutes later, with 10:39 left in the game, Falasca set up his second assist, passing to Dietz who tied the game up at 3-3. The third period ended, with the game tied.

Going into overtime, Navy already had one player in the penalty box for tripping.

Seven seconds into overtime, Rhode Island stole the puck and took a fast break to score the winning goal, beating Navy 4-3.

After the game, Coach Joe Augustine said he felt his team's win on Friday gave them "no edge" for Saturday's game.

The Rams seemed to have all the experience they needed, because Saturday night they blanked Navy, 5-0. The game started off very physical, just how Friday's game ended.

Five minutes into the first period Falasca scored his second goal of the season off a pass from Dietz. Rhode Island controlled the puck for the majority of the period, and it ended with The Rams ahead 1-0, out-shooting Navy 8-6.

The second period saw the Rams take a commanding lead.

The Rams outshot Navy 16-11 in the second period, and frustration seemed to set in for Navy, committing four 2-minute penalties in the period.

The penalties consisted of one for unsportsmanlike conduct, two for hooking and one for tripping.

The penalties led to two of the three Rhode Island goals in the second period. Scoring in the first 14 seconds of the period, senior Cory Manley shot a wrister from the right side of the goal with the assist going to freshman Kyle Letourneau. With 7:21 left in the period, Navy switched goalies, pulling junior Jeremy Estevez and replacing him with freshman Jameson Marshall.

Marshall didn't fare much better, and Rhode Island scored twice more in the period, making the score 4-0 going into the third period.

Freshman John Lessard had a pass to freshman Jay Dupras on a Rhode Island power play, making it 3-0, 11:06 into the period.

Rhode Island's fourth goal of the game came two minutes later on another power play. With 12:18 played in the second period, Letourneau had an assist to freshman Dan Lassik.

In the final period of the game, the Rams put the game away, scoring their final goal at 7:31 in the period. The goal came from senior Matt Wodecki with the assists going to junior James Lang and sophomore Bobby Gauthier. Navy outshot the Rams in the third period 12-8, but no goals came from it.

Augustine said he was very pleased with they way his team was playing.

"We have a ton of new guys and they are all learning from each other," Augustine said. "These past few games have been a great learning experience."

The Rams' next home game will be Friday, Oct. 17, when they take on Drexel University at the Boss Arena.