With a 10-0 rout of the Hawks of SUNY New Paltz, Fairfield’s hockey players made the first small step toward a conference championship.
And what a giant leap it was for the entire club on Tuesday night.
The Stags – who finished the season second in the Metropolitan Collegiate Hockey Conference – had their most consistent game, according to team members.
“We played three solid periods tonight,” said Palladino.
Palladino credited the strong performance to good puck movement and very good defensive play, especially by Chris “The Trigger” Valair ’04.
Strong effort by many during the game was the theme of players’ comments.
“[It was the] most consistent game,” Schnappinger said.
Schnappinger consistently iced the opposition, netting his first shutout for the club hockey team.
Downplaying his own efforts, Schnappinger credited his defense as the reason for the shutout. “All defensemen were unbelievable,” he said.
Burton Mills ’04 said it was a very fun game to play and he also pointed to the consistency of the players throughout the contest.
The game was the “first time we put three periods together,” said Mills.
Nick Stead ’04 – who had four points for the Stags – pointed to strong defense to explain the lopsided numbers on the scoreboard.
“They kept on battling, but we played good defense and that led to scoring opportunities,” Stead said.
Mills said the win puts the team in a “real good position” as they look to Thursday night and a semifinal match-up.
Forward Joe McInerney ’04 led the scoring effort with a hat trick. He said his team worked well together and he looked forward to Thursday’s game.
The game was well attended and the players felt the influence of the fans in the stands.
“The crowd was great … they were behind us all the way,” Mills said.
A small rink, the Wonderland of Ice can be turned into an unpleasant venue with a good crowd making a lot of noise by banging on the metal benches and plying the more vulgar words of the English language.
“We had a big crowd … it was fun to be out there,” McInerney said.
Ryan Magner ’05 suffered a broken leg in two places on Sunday, Feb. 8, at an away game playing CCM. Fortunately he is successfully recovering from surgery, according to Schnappinger.
“The entire team is behind him,” Schnappinger said.
Next up for the Stags is either Albany or Suffolk. The two teams will be playing for the right to face Fairfield.
According to the league’s Web site, the game will be held at 8:30 p.m. at the Wonderland of Ice, but updates may become available from the university.
The winner of this semifinal contest will earn the right to play in Sunday’s league conference championship.
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