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December 07, 2004
Hockey splits series against Northland
The weekend in Ashland, Wis., proved to be a learning session for the men’s hockey team. Winning 4-2 on Saturday, Nov. 27, with key power play goals, the Pipers found momentum working for them, but a disappointing performance Sunday left them with a split.
On Saturday, senior Steve Malke opened Piper scoring less than four minutes into the game. Ben Gustafson and Lubos Taragel provided the assist. He scored next for Hamline in the second period to give the Pipers a 2-0 lead, with Gustafson and Cody Drysdale assisting.
Northland pulled within one before the end of the second period, but just 1:14 into the third period, the Lumberjacks were able to tie the score at two.
Hamline surged ahead on a Drysdale power play goal 9:58 into the third period, and junior Mike Forconi netted the Pipers final goal on an empty net.
Hamline was three for six on power plays, while Northland was zero for three. The Pipers also outshot their opponents 33-21. Hamline goaltender John Harstad made 19 saves for the win. Todor Petkov was forced to stop 29.
Sunday was not a successful team effort for the Pipers. They had a harder time playing together as a team and didn’t convert power play opportunities.
The Pipers struck first with a Josh Fleming goal, but the Lumberjacks came back strong with three goals immediately in the second period. Later in the period, Hamline tied the game on two goals from senior co-captain Ryan Manke. His first goal was on a power play, and he was able to score a short-handed goal with less than 10 seconds remaining in the period. The Lumberjacks retaliated with two more goals in the third period for the eventual 5-3 win. Hamline held a 25-22 advantage in shots on goal, but were only one of five on power play opportunities. Harstad made 17 saves in the contest, while Petkov stopped 23. As the Pipers enter conference play, their focus is on “continuing to change the attitude of our program and gaining commitment to being a program that achieves excellence,” said head coach Chris Brown. In order to do this, he said, “the team needs to play as one unit with one heart.”
Hamline takes on Augsburg Friday night at home. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Posted by msveum at December 7, 2004 11:20 AM