NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College men's ice hockey team battled hard, but came up short against Wesleyan University 2-1, in the season opener Friday night from Dayton Arena. With the loss, Conn falls to 0-1 overall and 0-1 in NESCAC play, while Wesleyan improves to 1-0 overall and 1-0 in conference action.

Wesleyan (1-0, 1-0) started quickly, firing off the first four shots of the contest. On the fourth effort at 3:03, the Cardinals opened the scoring on a goal by DJ Dixon. Conn (0-1, 0-1) settled in after giving up the opening goal, responding with the next six shots. The Camels tied the game at the 9:03 mark, off a tally from John Russo (South Windsor, Conn.), as Quinn Kennedy (Silver Spring, Md.) and Andrew Eberling (Mount Laurel, N.J.) picked up the assists. Conn continued their strong play for the rest of the period, but the game remained tied after one.

The Cardinals came out strong in the second period looking to take the lead. After an early shot for Conn from Sean Detloff (Harrison Township, Mich.), Wesleyan recorded the next four. With just over seven minutes gone in the period, the Camels were assessed a too many men on the ice penalty. On the ensuing power play, after two great saves from Sean Dynan (Reading, Mass.), Owen Sweet put Wesleyan back in front at 8:22. The Cardinals held onto the lead, heading to the third period up 2-1.

Trailing by a goal, the Camels came out looking for the equalizer. After three shots for Wesleyan, Conn took over, spending the majority of the period in the offensive zone. In the frame, the Camels fired off 20 shots looking for the tying goal, with the best chance coming late while shorthanded. Just 11 seconds after Conn was called for a penalty, Rocco Testa-Basi (Holland-Patent, N.Y.) got sprung on a breakaway, but was unable to beat the goalie, as the Cardinals held on for the 2-1 win.

Wesleyan held a slim edge on shots, outshooting the Camels 21-19. Conn however, was strong in the face-off circle, winning 33 of 51 draws.

Dynan had a strong game in goal, finishing with 19 saves on 21 shots. Russo tallied the lone Camel goal, while Eberling and Kennedy both picked up their first collegiate point, earring assists. Testa-Basi led Conn with four shots on goal, while Michael DiMascolo (Cranston, R.I.) added three. Seth Stadheim (Lyme, N.H.) won 12 of 21 draws, while Russo was a strong 11-14 on face-offs, while Conn went 0-3 on the power play and 5-6 on the penalty kill.

Erik Voloshin earned the win in goal, stopping 18 of 19 shots. Three Cardinals tallied two points, as Dixon and Sweet both recorded a goal and an assist, while Ethan Davidson added two assists. Wesleyan went 1-6 on the power play and 3-3 on the penalty kill.

Conn wraps up the opening weekend against Trinity tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. at Dayton Arena.