NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College men's ice hockey team skated to a 3-3 tie with visiting Salve Regina, before falling to the Seahawks 2-0 in the shootout. With the tie, Conn moves to 4-1-1, while Salve moves to 4-3-1.
It was a slow start as neither side was able to generate a shot in the opening five minutes of the contest. Conn opened the scoring at 9:19 when Steven Ardagna (Roswell, Ga.) let a shot go from the point that Andrew Eberling (Mount Laurel, N.J.) tipped home to put the Camels in front 1-0. Salve tied the game late in the period on a marker from Aidan Connolly. At 17:17, Ian Tookenay and Cade DeStefani hooked up before finding Connolly who scored to send the game to the first intermission tied at one.
Conn jumped back in front early in the second period on a power play goal. At 4:43 Logan Cleary (Mentor, Ohio) took a shot that was stopped, but the rebound bounced up in the air right to Will Lawrence (Bethesda, Md.) who batted the puck home to make it 2-1 Camels. The lead was short lived however, as Salve tied the game just over a minute later. With the Seahawks on a five minute power play, Damon Zimmer tied the game at 5:56, before Walter Baumann put Salve up 3-2 at 6:57. Neither side connected for the rest of the period, as Salve led 3-2 heading to the third.
Conn spent most of the final period looking for the tying goal, but the Seahawks defense held the Camels at bay. With a minute and a half remaining, Conn pulled the goalie for the extra attacker. With 34 seconds remaining, the Camels found the tying goal. Eberling and Ardagna played catch along the near wall, before Ardagna laid the puck off to William Tripp (Lakeville, Mass.) who beat Selby Warren over the blocker to send the game to overtime.
In the extra session, both teams generated five shots, but neither side was able to capitalize, as the game headed to the shootout. The Seahawks were able to convert on their first two shots, while both of Conn's efforts missed, to give Salve the shootout victory.
Salve outshoot Conn 41-38, while holding a 46-39 advantage on face-off wins.
Kellen Beauton (Colchester, Conn.) got the start in goal and was fantastic, recording 38 saves. Eberling led the way with a goal and an assist, while Ardagna added two assists. Tripp and Lawrence both notched one goal, with Cleary picking up a helper. John Russo (South Windsor, Conn.) led the way in the circle, winning 19 of 32 draws, as Conn finished the night 4-6 on the penalty kill and 1-4 on the power play.
Warren got the start between the pipes, finishing with 35 saves. Nine different Seahawks recorded one point, with Baumann, Connolly, and Zimmer picking up the goals. Salve finished 2-6 on the power play and 3-4 on the penalty kill.
Conn returns to action on Tuesday evening as the Camels travel to Beverly, Mass. to take on Endicott College at 6:30 p.m.
