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Date: January 2, 2005
Contact: Bill Sodoma

 

Colby men's hockey wins sixth straight

GORHAM, Maine --- Senior Jared Gordon (Bangor, Maine) scored what proved to be the game-winning goal midway through the third period as the Colby College White Mules held off the University of Southern Maine Huskies 3-2 in a non-conference men's college hockey game Sunday afternoon at the USM Ice Arena.

The win was the fourth straight for the 15th ranked Mules who improve to 6-1-0 overall. Southern Maine drops to 4-5-1 overall. The two teams will meet in a conference game at Colby on February 11.

Gordon's fourth goal of the season at 8:07 of the final period gave Colby a 3-1 lead at the time. Senior Barry Brown (Souris, P.E.I.) and junior Jake Bayley (Cambridge, Ontario) picked up the assists on the play.

Southern Maine got back within one at 11:15 when sophomore Mark Carragher (Charlottetown, P.E.I.) scored a power-play goal off a passes from junior Ryan Wright (Eliot, Maine) and senior Nate Isabelle (Plainfield, N.H.).

The Huskies put the pressure on Colby senior goalie Chris Ries (Pittsburgh, Pa.) over the final four minutes, but were unable to slip the equalizer into the net. USM's best chance came with about two minutes to play as freshman Mike Stevens (Dover, N.H.) had a rebound land at his feet just outside the crease, but the rookie forward was unable to get his stick on the bouncing puck with Ries out of position.

Senior Cory Ernst (Bridgewater, Nova Scotia) put the visitors on top at 6:42 of the opening period with a power-play goal. Junior Matt Mendoza (Rockland, Mass.) tied the game for the Huskies at the 13:20 mark with this first goal of the season.

After a scoreless second period, Colby took the lead for good as freshman Ryan Chrenek (Grande Prairie, Alberta) scored his first collegiate goal at 2:38 of the third period. Chrenek was in the right spot to collect the rebound of Brown's left circle shot that went wide and came out the other side off the end board. Chrenek's shot from the right wing circle beat USM sophomore goalie David Beckles (Stamford, Conn.) before he could get across the crease.

Beckles finished with 28 saves for Southern Maine while Ries was credited with 27 saves for Colby.

Colby will host Curry College in a non-conference game Tuesday at 7 p.m.

At Gorham, Maine 1 2 3 Final

Colby (6-1-0) 1 0 2 3

Southern Maine (4-5-1) 1 0 1 2

1st Period: 1. C, Cory Ernst 4 (Nick Bayley) (ppg) 6:42; 2. SM, Matt Mendoza 1 (Bobby Siers) 13:20.

2nd Period: no scoring

3rd Period: 3. C, Ryan Chrenek 1 (Barry Brown, Todd O'Hara) 2:38; 4. C, Jared Gordon 4 (Jake Bayley, Brown) 8:07; 5. SM, Mark Carragher 3 (Nate Isabelle, Ryan Wright) (ppg) 11:15.

Goalies: C, Chris Ries (29 shots, 27 saves) SM, David Beckles (31 shots, 28 saves)

Power Play Opportunities: C 1 for 7 SM 1 for 8

Shots On Goal: C 14-9-8 = 31 SM 9-8-12 = 29