Department of athletics, physical education and recreation
|
|
Vermont Hands MIT First Loss of Season, 3-1
Dec. 3, 2007
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - University of Vermont defenseman Adam Roof notched a goal and two assists to help the Catamounts hand MIT's men's ice hockey team its first loss of the season, 3-1, in NorthEast Collegiate Hockey Association (NECHA) Conference A East Division action on Saturday night in the Johnson Ice Rink. The loss snapped the Engineers' season-opening five-game winning streak. Despite the loss, the Cardinal and Gray still stands at an impressive 5-1-0 overall and 3-1-0 in the NECHA. It's the second consecutive year in which MIT started the season with five consecutive wins before dropping its sixth game of the schedule to a division opponent. Vermont, which has won four games in a row after a rough start, improved to 6-7-2 overall and 3-2-0 in the NECHA. Sophomore forward Mike Ursiny put the Catamounts ahead midway through the opening period with his team-leading 12th goal of the season. Defenseman Nick Ulrich was credited with the primary assist, while fellow blue-liner Roof picked up the secondary helper. Junior forward Nick LaBounty evened the score at one apiece with just eight seconds remaining in the first period, as he finished feeds from junior Ryan Ballentine and freshman Riley Brandt. The tally gave LaBounty a team-high eight goals on the season to go along with eight assists for a team-best 16 points, while Ballentine's assist was his 11th on the season, good for the team lead. Brandt, meanwhile, secured his first-ever intercollegiate point with his helper. The score remained deadlocked for the majority of a tightly contested second period, but Roof's goal with just 1:17 remaining in the stanza broke the stalemate and proved to be the ultimate game-winner. Ursiny was credited with the lone assist on the tally. Roof turned provider once again to give the Catamounts an insurance-marker with 9:15 left in the contest, feeding senior Jon Lashure for his first goal of the season. Graduate student Thomas Hopkins stopped 30 shots between the pipes for the Engineers, while senior net-minder Luke BrindAmour made 29 saves for Vermont. MIT will travel to Smithfield, R.I., for its final game before the winter hiatus, as the Engineers will take on Bryant University at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7. The Catamounts will be in action that same evening, when they will host Bridgewater State College at 8:30 p.m. |
