The University of Southern Maine Men’s Ice Hockey team heads into the second half of the season with a challenging schedule ahead of it. The Huskies will play East College Athletic Conference (ECAC) opponents in all its remaining games, except for one. The non-league action game will be played at Castleton State on Saturday, Feb. 21 and will conclude regular season play for the Huskies.
The following is a look back on the seven games played during the long holiday break.
Saturday, Jan. 17 – Hamilton College Continentals defeated the Huskies 7-1, with six unanswered goals. Senior USM captain Chad Lauze, Gorham, NH, scored the only goal of the game for the Huskies to tie the score 1-1, giving Lauze a season tally of eight goals. USM goal tendender Matt Collaton, Oakville, ON, saved 34 of the 40 shots that were fired on goal. Stuart Fricke, St. Paul, MN also a goalie for USM, completed his day with five saves out of six shots on goal.
Friday, Jan. 16 – 14th ranked Amherst College slid past USM 3-2. The game was played at Orr Rink in Massachusetts. Junior Jon Lounsbury, Winthrop, MA, and Senior Jeremy Felt, Killingworth, CT, set up a power play that gave Lauze an opportunity to score. The Huskies tried for another goal to bring them closer to the lead, but eventually fell short.
Saturday, Jan. 10 – USM triumphed over St. Michael’s College 6-5 in overtime, in an ECAC East league conference action game. Junior Erik Kent, Newburyport, MA, completed his third goal of the game in overtime, securing the win for USM. Kent added a hat trick to his personal stats, scoring three goals in the game.
Friday, Jan. 9 – The number-one ranked Norwich University Cadets pulled past the Huskies 6-4, after USM put together a late rally to make the game close. Sophomore Franco Narcisi, Laval, QU scored two goals for the team, yet it wasn’t enough to put the Huskies on top.
Friday, Jan. 2 – The Colby College White Mules stomped USM 14-6, scoring ten of its goals in the second period. Attempting to come back against the Mules, the Huskies scored four goals in the final period as Colby scored only a single goal. Six different team members scored goals for the Huskies during the game. Freshman Bobby Siers, Mt. Prospect, IL, led the team with four points , recording a goal and three assists. Senior Chad Lauze scored a goal and tallied two assists while junior Jon Lounsbury posted three assists. However, USM was unable to make up for the goals that they allowed early in the game, resulting in a loss for the team.
Sunday, Dec. 28 – The Huskies defeated the Worcester State College Lancers 9-2 in the third place game of the 39th Annual Codfish Bowl played at the Clark Athletic Center on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Boston. This gave the Huskies their first win out of three trips to the Codfish Bowl. USM took complete control of the game and put it out of reach in the final period by connecting on three out of five power plays.
Saturday, Dec. 27 – The Skidmore College Thoroughbreds scooped up a win against the Huskies 3-1, in the first round of the Codfish Bowl. USM and Skidmore College will meet again this season in an ECAC Men’s East game scheduled to be played on Feb. 20 in Saratoga Springs, NY.
Joe Pierce can be contacted at [email protected]