The Loyola Greyhounds had to hold on all the way to the end to beat the Delaware Blue Hens, 8-7. Delaware had a golden opportunity to tie when Matt Ulrich cranked one from twelve yards out; the goalie was beat, but the ball nicked the post before going out of bounds. The score was close, but possession time was not as Loyola dominated. Steller play by Delaware goalie David Mullen was the equalizer, but it wasn't enough in the end.
The game was reminiscent of an old World War Two movie. It was cold. It was damp; and make no mistake about it, it was war out there today. They might want to check the record books for most penalties in a game without any being for over a minute. These guys may be young, but they will all be limping tomorrow. Slashing, hacking, pushing, and shoving were the order of the day. The nastinest of the game and an over zealous ref made for a long afternoon of penalty calls.
Delaware's defense looked to handle the ball real well and shut the Greyhounds down in settled situations in large part due to goalie David Mullen. Otherwise, this was a very sloppy game with no real upside for either team. Then again, what could a game played under these weather conditions really dictate come Memorial Weekend.
Delaware didn't wait long to go to the penalty box. They had two slashing penalties within the first four minutes. David Mullen hung tough making two great saves, but eventually Gavin Prout got his first of the day from Chris Summers for Loyola, 1-0. Jason Motta got it back for the Blue Hens when he inverted and isolated from behind. He just ran by his man and no help came, 1-1. Greyhound goalie Mark Bloomquist kept the game tied with two ensuing point blank shots off the face-off. Then Bloomquist best friend made the next one as Bryan Barret's crank went off the post. Delaware looked confused on offense. The sidelines were yelling out plays and the players were running around to spots with what seemed to be confusion. They didn't seem to be on the same page except for when they were man-up. Delaware took another slashing penalty at the 5:20 mark and Prout and Summers hooked up again to give Loyola the 2-1 advantage. Finally, Loyola got into it and took there first penalty. On Delaware's extra man Matt Lehmann got the pass from behind and fired off a lefty laser from fourteen yards out to beat Bloomquist high, 2-2. The Hens hit the post again before the quarter ended, but it would stay knotted.
The second quarter started off with a crazy scene. The melee moved from the face-off to Loyola's restraining line with bodies flying left and right. Eventually Loyola took the penalty, but nothing came of it. Loyola struck next when Gunner Goettlemann fed Summers on the crease who took a behind the back shot for the go ahead goal, 3-2. Summers then fed Brad Bevis to go up 4-2. This was followed by a couple minutes of failed clears and mass confussion. Summers went through two D-men on his next possession. They converged and both checked his stick, but know one took the body. Even he was surprised when he found the ball all alone with the ball in front of the crease so he threw it in back of the net, 5-2. It looked as if Loyola might begin to dominate, but that was not the case. Delaware stormed back with the next three goals. Before the half Prout got his third man-up goal of the game. He snuck from behind to take a Bobby Horsey feed from dead center up top. He quickly let it go behind his back for the 6-5 lead.
Loyola started the scoring in the second half in classic Greyhound style. They cleared the ball and got it to Stephen Brundage in front of Delaware's goal in 3.2 seconds. Delaware answered when Dave Christopher drove from the back right corner and hit the cross crease feed , Matt Alrich, where the slide came from, 7-6. Loyola's Stephen Brundage had a shorty behind so he took it to the net. No slide equals an 8-6 lead.
The fourth quarter continued with penalty call after penalty call, but no scoring was going on(unless you were counting bruises). Finally, Motta created a pretty play for the Hens when he drove from up top. He drew a couple and the dropped a behind the back pass to the open Willie Hopkins who finished to make it a one goal game. Although Loyola didn't score they kep sustained pressure with lengthy possessions. With time running out, the Blue Hens defenders could hardly even pressure the ball due to exhaustion. They wound up taking a pushing penalty and the game seemed all but over with under a minute to go. That's when Hen defender Keevin Galbraith stepped up again. It was his third clean take away check of the day. The first two helicoptered Prout and Goettlemann's sticks. The Hens went down for one last effort, but didn't succeed.
Loyola's offense looked alright, but Tim Goettlemann has definitely not been replaced. His younger brother, Gunner, has the skills but lacks the physical prescence that his brother had. Summers, however, looked very impressive as the one player who seemed capable of creating in settled situations. Prout is crafty, and got three man-up goals, but there didn't appear to be an attackmen who could really press the goal. Horsey looked good, but he had to contend with a longstick much of the time. Loyola's biggest question mark, and a big part of there play-off exit last year, is goaltending. Again, it's early, but Loyola seems to be missing too much to make a run in May.
Loyola vs. Delaware
| Current Record | |
|---|
| Delaware | 0-1 |
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