SAINTS EARN WEEKEND SWEEP IN FINAL HOME SERIES FOR CLASS OF 2008

Mar. 1: The St. Lawrence University men’s hockey Class of 2008 stormed out of Appleton Arena in style this weekend, as the Saints completed their first home sweep of the season with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Princeton University on “Senior Night.” Much like the team’s win over Quinnipiac on Friday night, it was the veteran players leading the way, as Pat Muir recorded his first collegiate goal and Justin Pesony made 34 saves between the pipes to pick up the victory.

 

The victory moved St. Lawrence to 12-18-4 (7-13-2) on the season and into ninth place in the final ECAC Hockey standings. The Saints will head to Hamilton, NY next weekend for a best-of-three series with the Colgate University Raiders in the opening round of the 2008 ECAC Hockey Tournament. Despite the loss, Princeton

(17-12-0, 14-8-0) still finished the season as the No. 2 seed in the standings and will have a first round by in the playoffs.

 

The two teams played a very competitive opening period, with St. Lawrence holding a narrow 12-9 lead in shots on goal. Princeton goaltender Zane Kalemba had a perfect period and was given a lead at the 9:00 minute mark of the first when Mike Moore ripped a wrist shot past Pesony from just inside the right circle while the Tigers skated on the power play. The goal was Moore’s 5th of the season and put Princeton ahead 1-0 after one.

 

Princeton took control of the game only 56 seconds into the second period, when the Tigers again capitalized while skating with a man advantage. Jody Pederson fed a quick pass from the blue line into the slot right on the tape of Brett Wilson. Wilson controlled the puck, and using a spin move to his right, fired a low shot past Pesony’s left leg for his 13th of the season and a 2-0 lead.

 

Muir would cut his team’s deficit in half at 8:55, as the Needham, MA native used a great individual effort to get

St. Lawrence on the scoreboard. Muir took a pass from senior Charlie Giffin and banged a shot off of Kalemba’s pads, only to outmuscle a defenseman, corral his own rebound and score his 1st goal of the season.

 

The goal seemed to energize the Saints, who celebrated in front of Kalemba again only 56 seconds later when sophomore Alex Curran picked up his 4th goal of the season to even the scoring at 2-2. The Perth-Andover, NB moved in on a two-on-one chance in front of the Princeton cage, and when he realized the passing lane was taken away, Curran snapped a shot between the near post and Kalemba’s glove to cap the second period scoring and tie the score.

 

Both goalies had efficient periods, though Pesony got the better of things with 14 saves to his counterpart’s ten.

 

St. Lawrence, playing in their final game at Appleton Arena for the 2007-08 season, showed a lot of hustle and effort both in the corners and while back-checking. Their hard work paid off at 5:18, when a great shift led to Ross’ goal to put the Scarlet and Brown ahead for the first time in the game.

 

With Princeton on their heel, junior Shawn Fensel cut into the zone and circled the puck back to sophomore Sean Flanagan at the blue line. The Canton, NY native turned and sent a pass to Ross outside the right circle, as he was wide open and no one between he and Palemba. The goaltender had no chance, as the Stony Island, NS native fired an absolute laser into the bottom-right portion of the net to put St. Lawrence ahead 3-2.

 

St. Lawrence protected their lead quite well, as they were able to clear the puck away from the goal mouth in front of Pesony and limit Princeton’s second chances. With the game’s outcome still in doubt at 17:16, Princeton’s Brad Schroeder took a boarding penalty in his defensive zone that hampered his team’s chances at netting the equalizer. Though the Tigers were able to pull Kalemba for the extra attacker after Schroeder’s penalty expired, they weren’t able to solve Pesony in the final 44 seconds as St. Lawrence held on for a 3-2 come-from-behind win.

 

Princeton held a slim 36-35 advantage in shots on goal, and was an impressive 2-of-4 on the power play while the Saints were held without a power play tally (0-for-2).

 

Pesony improved to 2-3-0 on the season with a 34-save performance, while Kalemba suffered the loss, falling to 16-8-0 despite making 32 stops.

 

The game was the final contest in Appleton Arena for six St. Lawrence seniors including Pesony, Giffin, Muir, Jordan Hack, and John Hallas. Meanwhile, the Saints and Raiders will kick-off their best-of-three series on Friday, March 7 at Starr Rink in Hamilton, NY. A game time is yet to be determined.

 

 

GIFFIN AND HALLAS HELP SAINTS END FOUR GAME SKID WITH 4-1 WIN OVER QUINNIPIAC

Feb. 29: The St. Lawrence University men’s hockey team turned to their veterans to make an impact on Friday night against Quinnipiac in Appleton Arena, and the upperclassmen did not disappoint. Senior Charlie Giffin tallied a goal and an assist, graduate student Pat Muir picked up his first career point and fellow grad student John Hallas made 30 saves, lifting the Saints to a thorough 4-1 victory over the Bobcats.

 

The Saints improved to 11-18-4 (6-13-2) and snapped a four-game losing streak, while Quinnipiac lost their fifth straight and dropped to 17-12-4 (9-8-4).

 

Sophomore Travis Vermeulen wasted little time in putting the Scarlet and Brown ahead, as the Centerville, MN native scored his 6 th goal of the season only 4:40 into the first period on his team’s second shot on goal. Vermeulen ducked a defender and carried the puck into the slot in front of Quinnipiac goaltender Bud Fisher. Though Fisher was able to get a piece of Vermeulen’s bid, he merely slowed it down as it crossed the goal line and put St. Lawrence ahead 1-0.

 

Though Quinnipiac gave up the goal, the visitors played a very solid first period, out-shooting St. Lawrence 13-8. Hallas was the difference maker, however, as he stopped each shot that came his way including back-to-back saves on David Marshall from point blank range to keep his team ahead after one period.

 

Junior co-captain Jared Ross made the score 2-0 only 1:08 into the second period only six seconds after his team’s power play time expired. Muir started the play by finding Giffin, who sent a pass to Ross at the blue line. The Stony Island, NS native blasted a slap shot over Fisher’s glove to pad the Saints’ lead.

 

A 10-minute misconduct penalty on Quinnipiac’s leading scorer Brandon Wong would bottle up the Bobcats’ offense midway through the second. With the visiting team taking consecutive undisciplined penalties, the Saints cashed in on a 5-on-3 advantage at 10:23 to build their cushion to 3-0. Junior Matt Generous took a pass from fellow classmate Casey Parenteau and sent a low shot towards the goal. However, Giffin was able to get a stick on the puck and re-direct it through Fisher’s legs for his 7th goal of the season.

 

St. Lawrence, which out-shot their opponents 14-10 in the period, capped the stanza with a picturesque goal off the stick of sophomore Sean Flanagan. The Canton, NY native received a pass from Derek Keller and rifled a fantastic shot from just outside the left circle that eluded Fisher’s glove and crept under the cross bar for his 6th of the season. The goal put the Saints ahead comfortably, 4-0, heading to the third frame.

 

The final period was a very evenly played 20 minutes, with Quinnipiac holding the upper hand in shots on goal,

8-7. Eric Lampe would end Hallas’ shutout bid at 10:06 of the period when he took a pass from Mike Atkinson on the left side of the goal and squeezed the puck between the goaltender and the near post for his 11th of the season, cutting the lead to 4-1.

 

The Saints’ defensive unit, led by Generous and junior Zach Miskovic, clamped down, though, and kept the Bobcats from creeping any closer. Hallas wrapped up the win in what will likely be his final game at Appleton Arena, improving to 5-5-1 on the season in a 30-save performance, while Fisher drops to 10-9-3 after making 25 saves.

 

St. Lawrence will look to earn their first weekend sweep since January 13 when they welcome Princeton University to Canton, NY tomorrow, Saturday, March 1st. The game will be the final regular season home game for the Saints’ Class of 2008, with the puck dropping on the Scarlet and Brown and Tigers at 5:30pm.