Matt Cilbrith – Special to the Southern News
NEW HAVEN—Excitement, chaos, drama and many more words could be used to describe the Southern Owls game versus the University of Albany Great Danes. The game ended in story book fashion as the Owls came back from being down two goals in the third period, tying the game with only one second left in regulation, to then go on and win the game in the shootout 5-4. Coach Bob O’Brien described the feeling in the locker room going into the third period where the Owls were down two and also killing off two penalties.
“The attitude of the team, they were angry, and we had to clear our heads, and we had our task, we knew what we had to do, and we had to stay out of the box,” said O’Brien. “Once we started playing hockey we turned the game around. That’s all I can say, we turned the game around once we started playing the game.”
The game started off with the Owls taking the lead. Captain Justin Kenny started the scoring off on the power play for the owls when he slammed home a loose puck in front of the net to give the Owls a lead early in the first period. The Great Danes tied it up halfway through the first when a rebound that popped straight in the air was batted in by Gavin Grogan.
The second period started with the Owls scoring again on the power play this time Tom Brunski buried one off of a rebound coming from a shot from the point making it 2-1 SCSU. Shortly after is when the tides turned. While a delayed Southern penalty was waiting to be called, Brunski collided with an Albany player causing an eruption, players began to push and shove at first but then it got nasty. Blake Biancamano of the Owls hit an Albany forward, and then the Great Dane Grogan took his helmet off and attempted to rip Biancamano’s off as well. Both players were ejected. Following that the Owls received six penalties in the remaining minutes of the second which lead to three unanswered Albany goals.
The Ice Owls were relentless in the third period. Vito Puopolo came out looking like a man possessed starting off his first shift with two huge body checks getting the team fired up. The lead was narrowed to one when defenseman Dylan Gillis carried the puck into the zone by himself and picked the top left corner making it 4-3 Albany.
Owls Defensemen Johnny Johnson was back out on the ice in the third period after coming off for most of the second with a left arm injury. Luckily for the Owls he was out there because with the Owls on the power play, and the goalie Shayne O’Brien on the bench for the extra skater, Johnson scored the tying goal with one second remaining in regulation time.
“They told me I broke [my wrist] but I don’t really believe that,” said Johnson. “I saw the faceoff was in the zone there was like five second left and I normally play defense so I stepped and threw it off the boards when I was behind the net and it just so happened to pop in.”
The game went to overtime and Coach O’Brien said they played that period very well.
“The first five minutes of that overtime we kept pressure the whole time,” said O’Brien. “And that tells us we can play with these teams anytime anyplace, we just have to make them know it.”
Following an overtime period in which neither team scored the game moved to a shootout. None of the players scored for either team till Steve Ruocco of the Owls came up big and put one in the net to win it. Ruocco said he knew what he was doing the whole time.
“We do shootouts in the practice and I always do forehand backhand, that’s my move, so that’s what I went with in the game,” said Ruocco.
This was the Owls first win on home ice in Hamden, Ruocco summed up the feeling in one word.
“Awesome!”
