Men's ice hockey splits weekend doubleheader; women fall short

01/22/09 - After a month-long break, the University of Rhode Island hockey program returned to action with both the men's and women's teams on the road.The Rhody men split two games to the University of Delaware, winning game one 5-2, while losing game two 4-3. The women took on Lindenwood University in three games and fell in two games 4-1, 3-2 and tied one 0-0.

The Rhode Island men traveled to Eastern States Collegiate League Hockey foe Delaware's Olympic-sized ice arena for the contest.

Rhody came into game one battling for first place in the ESCLH and did all they could to better their chances.

Delaware forward Mike McBride opened the scoring with 16:51 on the clock by finding the back of the net on a short-handed goal.

Four minutes later, Rhode Island struck back with a score by senior Mike Bragger.

The two teams remained deadlocked for 10 minutes of back and forth play until URI was called for too many players on the ice, giving Delaware a power play advantage.

It took only seconds of power play action for Delaware defensemen Joe Baumgartner to fire a puck past goaltender Joe Spagnoli and end the stalemate.

The second period saw strong play by both Spagnoli and Delaware goalie Kurt Pflumm.

Spagnoli turned away 20 shots in the frame to keep the Rams in the contest.

Pflumm stayed solid until freshman Dan Lassick was able to find a hole in the Blue Hens' defense and secure the equalizer with 9:55 left in the period.

The third period was all Rhode Island as Bragger struck again to give Rhody a 3-2 advantage.

From there, the Rams never looked back as senior Matt Wodecki added an insurance goal off of a breakaway to put the Rams up 4-2.

Senior Ben Herring shut the door shortly thereafter, adding another goal with 5:48 remaining.

"We came out strong in this one and finished even stronger," said senior co-captain Cory Manley.

The following day, Rhode Island looked to earn a sweep in order to put itself in good position to secure first place in the ESCHL.

Rhody's offense continued its explosive play, garnering a two-goal lead by the end of the first period.

Sophomore Kyle Krannich contributed to the first period effort along with Herring who scored his second goal in as many days.

Halfway into the second period, Rhode Island struck again, this time a short-handed goal by sophomore Devin Sheehan to make it 3-0 Rhody.

For the rest of the period Rhode Island sticks fell silent, allowing Delaware to fight back with one on two back-to-back goals within 20 seconds of each other.

Delaware defenseman Zach Reubel struck first with 3:26 remaining in the frame and forward Mike Gardner added another shortly after.

Rhode Island was unable to find an answer to the two quick goals throughout the third period, allowing the Blue Hens to send the game into overtime despite some controversy.

Gardner was credited with another goal as a puck deflected off of a Rhode Island player into the back of the net to force the extra frame.

In overtime, a hooking penalty spelled the end for Rhody as a power play helped Gardner earn the hat-trick goal and give Delaware the win.

"We let a convincing lead vanish in game two," said Manley. "We really needed to sweep Delaware, but taking three out of four points is better than losing all four."

In women's American Collegiate Hockey Association action, number one ranked Rhode Island traveled to second ranked Lindenwood University for a three game series.

Rhody entered the game with a record of 14-2 and the opposing Lindenwood Lions came in at 15-3-2.

In game one, Rhode Island and Lindenwood played even for the first period thanks to fine goaltending by the Rams' Nina Goncarovs and the Lions' Alexa Bauer.

Despite the lack of scoring, Lindenwood was able to set the tone as they put 10 shots on goal, compared to Rhode Island's five.

Lindenwood's shots found holes in the second period as they broke the game open with two scores.

Forward Mandy Dion put the Lions on the board first with a goal and nearly two minutes later, forward Krystal Martin placed a shot of her own in the net to give Lindenwood a 2-0 lead.

Rhode Island senior Kate Garcia struck back with two minutes left in the period cutting Lindenwood's lead to one.

While killing a penalty, Lindenwood forward Lauren Campbell snuck a goal passed Goncarovs for a shorthanded goal.

In the third period, the Lion defense tightened up only allowing six shots on goal.

Lindenwood forward Miranda Schrock added an insurance goal to make the final score 4-1.

In game two, both teams skated to 0-0 tie. Bauer stopped 17 shots for the Lions and Goncarovs stopped 21 for the Rams.

Game three saw a close contest between the two powerhouses.

Dion starred in the first period, striking first for the Lions on a power play goal in the opening frame and adding another, one minute and 19 seconds later.

In the second period, Rhode Island's Jolene Rambone struck back with a power play goal three and a half minutes into the period.

Dion scored her third goal minutes later, giving the Lions all the offense they would need to seal the victory.

Rhody threatened in the third period as freshman Meghan Birnie scored on a one-timer from Kate Garcia to make the score 3-2, but the Lindenwood defense kept the Rams from scoring the equalizer the rest of the frame.

The Rhode Island women will host the University of Massachusetts on Jan.31.

The men will travel to Pennsylvania State University on Jan. 23 to take on the Nittany Lions.