News
Briefly
Calendar of Events
Commentary
Opinions
Sports
Diversions
One time, one night
Special Section
World News
Classifieds
Login
Letter Submission
Search
Archive
Publishing Policy
Mail Subscriptions
St. Cloud State University
College Publisher
Home
>
Sports
Saturday night isn’t all right
Men’s hockey team sees its Saturday record fall to 1-4-1 in a weekend split with UMD.
By Bobby Hart
Published:
Monday, November 25, 2002
Media Credit: Leslie Andres
SCSU’s Matt Hendricks (10) goes flying into the University of Minnesota-Duluth goal as the Bulldog’s Todd Smith (6) jumps to avoid it Saturday at the National Hockey Center. The Huskies lost 4-2 after winning 3-2 the night before at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center.
Media Credit: Leslie Andres
SCSU’s Joe Jensen sees his shot stopped by University of Minnesota-Duluth’s goalie Isaac Reichmuth Friday at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center.
The Huskies came into this weekend’s home-and-home series with the University of Minnesota-Duluth trying to get their first sweep of the season. However, they ran into some difficulties on the way.
SCSU barely came up with a 3-2 victory Friday night after blowing a 3-0 lead. Then they ran into their Saturday night curse, along with a poised UMD goaltender in Isaac Reichmuth, who handed them a 4-2 loss.
It was smooth sailing for the Huskies in the first two periods Friday night at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center.
Joe Motzko got the Huskies started with a shot that bounced off of three skates as it slid between Reichmuth’s legs about seven minutes into the first period. He was assisted by Matt Hendricks and freshman Tim Conboy.
The Huskies owned all the momentum in the second period after Jon Cullen found a streaking Ryan Malone on a power play. Malone froze up Reichmuth, then slipped the puck between his legs as the Huskies took a 2-0 lead at 7:19.
SCSU’s next score came when Hendricks added his sixth power play goal of the season with 3:20 remaining in the period. He found the top of the net, knocking Reichmuth’s water bottle up in the air and grasped what looked to be the rest of UMD’s breath going into the final period of play.
“St. Cloud looked great in the first two periods,” UMD head coach Scott Sandelin said. “They looked like a pro team compared to us. I didn’t even show up in the locker room after the second period. Sometimes you just have to let the players figure it out. Whoever took charge in the locker room said the right things.”
Whomever that faceless leader was, and whatever he said, completely rejuvenated what looked like a hopeless UMD team in the first two periods.
UMD’s senior Drew Otten gave the Bulldogs some life at 3:59 into the third when he beat SCSU’s undefeated goaltender Jake Moreland glove-side, making it 3-1. Freshman Tim Stapleton then converted on a five-on-three advantage, after back-to-back penalties assessed to Jeff Finger and Tim Conboy, cutting the deficit to one point.
Moreland made perhaps the best save of the game when UMD defender Neil Petruic rifled a shot at him. Moreland stretched out in the splits to come up with a great glove save with only 1:17 left.
Seconds later, with Reichmuth pulled, Tim Stapleton got a shot off during a scramble in front of the Husky net. Stapleton thought his shot deflected off the right post, into the net and out off the back bar. What many UMD players thought was the game-tying goal was waived off and SCSU was able to catch their breath in a 3-2 victory.
“I got a piece of it off the very tip of my glove and I got enough of it for it to go off the post and I heard the ‘ping.’ I felt it hit my leg and I watched it go out,” Moreland said of the play. “It was just a mad scramble, but the refs were right there.”
The Huskies seventh win in a row at Duluth was much credited to the undefeated senior’s clutch performance between the pipes, but Reichmuth also showed why he currently owned the best save percentage in the WCHA.
“Jake got the game puck, he was outstanding,” Husky head coach Craig Dahl said. “I thought Reichmuth was outstanding too.”
Saturday night was a different story altogether for SCSU, who, instead of getting off to a quick start, didn’t catch their legs until UMD was already up 2-0 in the second period.
Again, it was the senior line that got the Huskies started. About two minutes into the period, Malone and Motzko got on a two-on-one break. Malone had the puck on the right side with a defender denying him a passing lane. Instead of forcing anything, he just glided slowly and waited until the last second to find a streaking Motzko, who poked it in from the left side.
Less than a minute later on a power play, Jon Cullen got a defender to bite on a nice fake from the outside and then wristed it by Reichmuth’s glove to tie the game at 2-2.
UMD’s Marco Peluso would answer right back when he stole an arrant pass and rifled a shot that popped off Moreland’s chest and found it’s way in the net. Neil Petruic then snuck a wrister past Moreland that went in and out of his glove, making it 4-2.
The two-point deficit was too much for the Huskies this time around. Although they had numerous opportunities in the third period, Reichmuth was all over the crease to deny the Husky offense.
He sprawled out to make two excellent stick saves on Motzko on back-to-back power play opportunities early in the third. One looked like it crossed the crease in a replay, but it wasn’t reviewed by the goal judge.
“It was one of those nights when the goaltender had my number,” Motzko said. “The hockey gods were against us tonight. We couldn’t get one to go in and they found a way to trickle in a couple of weak ones.”
Reichmuth wasn’t lucky enough to witness even a couple “weak ones” in the third.
“On the first one, I had my stick pinned up against the post. (Motzko) would’ve had to get it up to get it in. He tried to put it through my stick instead,” Reichmuth said. “They came out hard in the third trying to win the game, but we weathered the storm.”
Nevertheless, SCSU was stifled once again on a Saturday night. Their Saturday record now stands at 1-4-1, and it looks like they’ll have to satisfy their hunger for the first sweep of the season on their Thanksgiving Day turkey.
SCSU doesn’t take to the ice again until a series at the University of North Dakota on Dec. 6 and 7.
Privacy Policy
Network Advertising
Article Syndication
