By Michaela Gates, Staff Writer
The Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth Hockey had a rough weekend in Manchester, N.H., as they dropped two straight games in the very competitive PAL Cup Tournament. The Corsairs lost 3-2 to Suffolk in their opener and 6-4 to Western New England in their consolation game that followed the opening loss.
The Corsairs played an extremely sharp first period against the Rams of Suffolk as they registered a whopping 11 shots and staved off 9 of Suffolk’s. In the 18th minute of the first period senior Mike Sones received a beautiful pass from fellow senior Casey Shea as Sones cashed in the opportunity for the game’s first goal and an early lead. Sones goal was his eighth of the season, good enough to lead all Corsairs in points.
For the remainder of the period and halfway into the second, the Corsairs played lockdown defense and were shelling the Suffolk goalie with a hailstorm of shots. However, the Rams were able to make good when they went down a man halfway through the second. Despite the fact that Suffolk was down a player, they managed to find the back of the Corsair net and tie the score at 1-1.
It did not take long for Suffolk to find twine yet again as the Rams rallied for a second goal just two minutes after they knotted the game at one. The Corsairs managed to clamp down on defense limiting Suffolk’s chances and ending the second period down just one.
However, this was not to be so the rest of the game as Suffolk would net another, with just four minutes left in regulation giving them a 3-1 lead. The score would hold steady here until there was under a minute left in regulation and junior Jonathan Ruiz put one in for UMassD. The goal was not enough as the Corsairs fell to the Rams and thus into the consolation bracket as their fight for the PAL Cup continued.
The Corsairs final game of the tournament proved to be a barn burner as the Corsairs and the WNEU Bears combined for ten goals. Western New England kicked off scoring less than two minutes into the game, however the Corsairs would not be intimidated. Sophomore Steve Leonard responded with a goal just four minutes later and freshmen Kai Kapossy in the final minute of the period. Junior Kenny Tencza would score just thirty seconds after Kapossy and the Corsairs would end the first up 3-1.
In the second period the scoreboard saw little action as WNEU and UMassD tallied one goal apiece as the Corsair goal came off the stick of Ruiz. The third period was a disaster for the Corsairs as they ended the game letting up four straight goals. These four goals would put the Bears up by a score of 6-4 and bring the Corsairs competition for the PAL Cup to an end.
The game against WNEU marked the second in a row where Corsairs skaters were unable to find the back of the net on power plays. The Corsairs are back to work tonight at Worchester State.