NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – A third period comeback by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth hockey team was shut down by Curry College in a physical, non-conference matchup on Thursday evening at Hetland Arena, 4-2.
After a Colonel's goal to start the final stanza, freshman Shayne Bailey (Quincy, Mass.) and classmate Casey Shea (Woburn, Mass.) scored within a couple minutes of each other to cut the deficit down to one goal, 3-2. With nine minutes, 46 seconds remaining in regulation, Bailey flicked a shot over the goaltender's left shoulder and into the net off a feed from classmates sophomore Mike Kelly (Stoneham, Mass.) and freshman Jaret Babych (North Vancouver, B.C.). Shea followed a minutes later with his third goal of the season. Kelly and Babych were credited with the setup on the strike.
The Corsairs appeared to have regained momentum as the game ticked into the final minutes, until Curry College's Jordan Reed (Ajax, Ontario) broke away from the defense and wristed a shot on net. UMass Dartmouth goaltender JJ Solloway managed to partially block the shot, but could not maintain possession as the puck trickled across the red line for the score.
Reed found the back of the net earlier in the contest as well, when the senior forward put home his fifth goal of the season 13 minutes, 35 seconds into the opening period. Sophomore Joe Scarfo (Winthrop, Mass.) scored the only goal of the second period and gave the Colonels a two-goal advantage in the second when he fired his first goal of the season into the back of the net.
The play that summed up the physicality of the contest came with 2 minutes and 16 seconds left in the second period, when an UMass Dartmouth and Colonel player collided into the boards, shattering the glass. Play was stopped and an intermission was called by the referees so the broken glass could be replaced. Following the break in action, the teams finished up the remaining couple minutes in the second stanza, took a one minute intermission, than began the final period of play. Sophomore Justin Nice (Aurora, Ontario) piled on another score to push Curry's lead to three scores just five minutes into the third.
Both teams were unsuccessful on their power-play opportunities (0-2, 0-1), while the Colonels held a significant advantage in shots on goal (50-35). Solloway stopped 46 attempts in 59 minutes of action and senior Derek Mohney (Amherst, N.Y.) turned away 33 shots to earn his first win of the year for Curry.
UMass Dartmouth resumes conference play at 5 pm on Saturday, Nov. 6, when the Corsairs travel to Fitchburg State. The Colonels travel to Utica on Saturday for a 7 pm contest. (Game Recap Courtesy of Umass Dartmouth Sports Information)
