By: BW Jones
UK Hockey earned its first win of the season in style on Saturday, fighting back to a 4-3 victory over the Central Michigan Chippewas.
The Cats jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, but fell behind 3-2 early in the third. A dramatic rally, capped by sophomore Sean Wormald’s game-winning goal with 13 seconds remaining punctuated the 4-3 victory, the first of the year for the Cats. The win split the weekend series after the Cats dropped Friday’s opener 12-8.
Assistant Captain Chris Protenic started the night off with a power play goal seven minutes into the game. Wormald added a second goal of the period two minutes later.
The Cats were unable to capitalize on several power play opportunities in the second period, and Central Michigan scored their first goal of the night with less than one minute remaining to close the gap to 2-1.
Defensive breakdowns early in the third led the Cats to fall behind 3-2. Both of Central Michigan’s third period goals came within the first two minutes of the final period, quieting what had been a raucous crowd.
But a shorthanded goal for the Cats by defenseman Alex Robinson evened it up at 3-3 with 8:30 remaining in the final period of play. After the Cats failed to capitalize on a pair of late power play opportunities, the game seemed to be heading toward overtime.
But Wormald made sure that didn’t happen, netting the game-winner with only seconds to spare.
“I just got a great pass, saw 13 seconds left and put it in the net.†Wormald said.
In a desperation move, Central Michigan pulled the goalie after Wormald’s go-ahead goal, but time expired as both teams tried to dig the puck out from the boards immediately following the faceoff.
Several members of the Cool Cats said the win was especially important in the wake of Friday’s loss. With a roster featuring nine freshmen and only two seniors, sophomore goalie Jim Borgaard described Saturday’s game as “a key win.â€
“We really felt like we needed to redeem ourselves,†he said.
Team Captain Andrew Serres said that several of the team’s new faces and other younger players made an impression.
“Obviously Wormald’s goal was huge, and a lot of our good rookies stepped up as well,†Serres said.
Physical play accented the night, causing the referees to separate UK players from their CMU counterparts almost a half dozen times. Serres said that while play might have gotten a little out of hand, new rule changes that created some confusion may have caused some of the physicality seen throughout the weekend series.
Several team members credited Saturday’s win to better defense and stronger goaltending, though they cautioned that the team still has room for improvement.
“We get an early lead, and then we slow down,†Serres said.
UK Hockey fans slashed the tires on the Bus and Trailer of the CMU team. You have no class. Unsportsmanlike conduct like this reflects poorly on the college’s hockey program. Other teams will not come and play when they hear of this. On the part of the collge, they were negligent not to put any secuirty on the bus, to prevent this. Hockey teams don’t do this to each other.