Love that "Old Time Hockey."
The UB Ice Bulls took it to the Mercyhurst Lakers in a 6-2 upset victory on Friday in a men's club ice hockey game at the Amherst Pepsi Center. The game was marked most significantly by the lack of bodies on the Mercyhurst bench by the end of the game.
"It was like 'Slapshot' out there," UB captain Sean Moskal said. "It was like the Charlestown Chiefs."
The over-aggressive and undisciplined play of Mercyhurst proved costly as Buffalo was on the power play 13 times, and converted on four of those opportunities. At one point in the second period, Buffalo had three consecutive two-man advantages, culminating in a Bill Mosler power play goal.
"The best way to kill a team is to score a goal," UB goaltender Adam Golder said. "Hitting is not all what the game's about. We played through it and it was a great win."
Several Mercyhurst players were ejected for misconduct and major penalties, becoming frustrated and irresponsible towards the end of the game. Buffalo maintained its discipline during the contest as they were only penalized six times and gave up no power play goals. The Ice Bulls have now killed off 54 straight penalties.
After an evenly contested first period, Buffalo entered the second on the power play. It only took twenty-five seconds for their sophomore right wing, Mosler, to slip the puck in between the legs of Lakers' Goalie Ian Episcopo.
From then on, it was all Buffalo, who would score twice more in the period to make it 4-1 at the end of the second period. Mosler had an outstanding game, scoring twice and getting two assists.
Golder had another outstanding night between the pipes, steering away 32 shots while allowing only two goals.
"It was a big game, we knew we had to win the game, and everybody came to the rink prepared to win," Golder said. "Winning this game was just huge. It was so great to beat a ranked team and it says so much about our guys."
Moskal shared his goaltender's sentiments.
"I think it says a lot about our team, and how far we've come. We're young, but obviously we're growing fast," Moskal said.
UB got production from everywhere, and Golder was especially pleased with how well the role players stepped up in the late periods.
"Some of the younger guys, they didn't get a lot of playing time tonight, you know, and they were great about it," Golder said. "Christian Wienholtz, he didn't play at all in the first two periods. He came out, knew his role, we were up a little bit, and he scored a goal."
Scoring for the Ice Bulls were seniors Chris Gervaise and Rich Malicki, Moskal, Mosler, and Wienholtz. With the win, Buffalo's record now stands at 4-1-0 in the ECHL with eight points on the season. The Ice Bulls currently occupy third place but have played less games than the top two teams. They travel to face No. 2 Washington & Jefferson (6-0-0, 12 points) on Saturday.
Scoring for Mercyhurst was senior Rob Garber and freshman Ryan O'Conner. Mercyhurst now stands at 8-2-0 with 16 points. The Lakers remain in first place in the ECHL but have played the most games.
