Ice Hockey rolls through two thrilling victories

By Staff Writer James Mellen III. On Wednesday, November 29th, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men’s ice hockey team roll(sair)ed through the Worcester State ice hockey team in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup at Corsairs’ home Hetland Arena in New Bedford, Massachusetts.  A true nail biter of a game, with the end of the second period of the hour long game ending with a 2-2 tie. The tie held into the third and final period, until the Lancers scored a power play goal five minutes and five seconds in. All hope seemed to be lost until the Corsairs pulled their goaltender from the net to get an extra man up ice on offense.  A huge ice title happened when senior Jonathan Ruiz (Williamstown, N.J.) passed the puck over to junior Steven Leonard (Rockaway Park, N.Y.) who proceeded to slap it into the net, pushing the Corsairs into a tie and forcing overtime.   The game was settled in overtime by sophomore Eric Bolden (Oswego, Ill.), who scored a goal only 2:37 minutes into the overtime period.   Prior to the thrilling finish, Ruiz lead the team to an early start with a goal two minutes and 59 seconds into the first period. The Lancers refuted this goal relatively quickly with a shorthanded goal three minutes later.  The Lancers drew the first blood in the second period with a goal five minutes and 18 seconds into the second period. UMass Dartmouth fought back though when senior Connor Court’s (Swansea, Ill.) goal with 3:06 to play in the frame, tied the game at two apiece.  The Corsairs played another game Saturday, December 1st, this time a non-league match against Stonehill college at Hetland Arena, who they defeated in their second 4-3 victory in one week.   Bolden lead the team in goals, scoring two goals, one in the second period and another in the third. This brings his total amount of goals for the season to four.  The Corsairs opened the match strong with a goal only four minutes and 35 seconds into the game by another goal from Ruiz, bringing his goal total to seven this season. However, the visiting Skyhawks answered with a goal of their own only 43 seconds later.   Then in the second period, Stonehill managed to catch a lead over the Corsairs for a mere 57 seconds. Freshman Blake Harlow (Pelham, Ala.) scored the first goal of his collegiate career, destroying Stonehill’s hopes and dreams of ice hockey glory. Then, Bolden scored his first of two goals on the night, securing UMass Dartmouth’s win over the Skyhawks.  UMass Dartmouth travels to Winchendon, Mass. on Wednesday, December 5th evening to take on Franklin Pierce in a non-league clash. 
 

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