Facing the #1 ranked ACHA D-III team in the country is tough enough, facing them and having so many breaks go against you is beyond tough. The game was pretty much decided in the first period when the Great Danes from SUNY Albany scored 4 goals in a span of 3:31, which coincidently was when the blade holder on Miguel Dominguez's skate shattered. Fortunately, he was able to borrow a pair of skates, but by the time he returned to the lineup, the damage was already done.
If that wasn't bad enough, on the very next shift, freshman Nick Naumovski injured his leg , which will keep him out of action until next semester. A little later Kevin Mahon took a wicked slap shot off the shin to knock him out of the game as well.
In the meantime the remaining Highlanders continued to battle to the best of their ability as Tim Cornely, with help from Colin McArdle and Desi Fioravati put NJIT on the board with a power play goal. The good feeling generated by that goal would be short-lived however as the Great Danes scored as the 1st period came to an end to regain their 4-goal lead.
The 2nd period was more of the same as Albany out-shot their hosts 11-3 and if not for some outstanding play in net by Yllano Tubijella, the damage could have been a lot worse. As it was the Great Danes netted a pair and increased the lead to 7-1.
Veteran Joe Cestaro started the 3rd period in net and picked up right where Yllano had left off. A few spectacular saves early in the period set the tone for the rest of the game as NJIT more than doubled their shot total with 10 in the 3rd and outscored Albany 2-1 in the period to close the gap to 8-3. The first of the two goals was scored, unassisted, by Justin Gelesky and the last goal was by Kevin McMorrow who picked up a rebound of Geleky's next shot and after getting the goalie to commit, tucked in the five-hole.
The game served as a training ground for the players who have not been on the team before. Up until recently all they had seen were some pretty mediocre teams. Now, in the span of 7 days they have faced 2 of the stronger teams in the MCHC. After going toe-to-toe with Skidmore and realizing after a poor 1st period that they can play with Albany it will be interesting to see how the boys respond to the challenge of playing some of the other strong programs in the MCHC.
Next up is the last home game before the break. After this game the Highlanders are on the road for 3 MCHC contests with Hofstra & Fordham sandwiched around a trip to Maritime.
11/22/08 - Moravain 7:30 PM Prudential Center
