By Danielle Achin
FSU’s men’s Ice Hockey team fell in a 6-0 blowout on home ice against the New England College Pilgrims Nov. 9.
First period started with both teams entering the rink ready to face off against each other, sending the puck back-and-forth with great defense.
Despite several strong saves by sophomore Rams goalie Blake Carlson, the Pilgrims found an opening, sending the puck into the net scoring only 6 minutes into the game.
The Rams attempted to even the score in the first period, but each shot was saved by Pilgrims goalie Spencer Kozlowski, keeping New England College in the lead 1-0.
It didn’t take long for the Pilgrims to skate through the Rams’ defense, scoring their second goal only 28 seconds into the second period.
The Rams had several good chances to score, but all shots hit the pipe, clearing the puck out of danger.
A few moments later, the Rams received a penalty resulting in a power play for New England College. There was no question as to who had the upper hand, and junior Alex Laplante scored on a rebound, extending the lead to 3-0.
Continuing their scoring streak, the Pilgrims took a 4-0 lead just over four minutes into the second.
Returning out of the second intermission, the Pilgrims didn’t even break a sweat, pushing through FSU’s defense.
Only 11 seconds into the third period, New England College’s Conner Inger scored his second of the game, shooting off a rebound from Trevor Momot, continuing their scoring streak 5-0.
The last goal of the game was scored when CJ Valerian sent the puck straight to the net, making it a 6-0 victory for New England College.
Freshman Ashton Collazo commented on his team’s performance, saying they could have done better working together as a team.
“I feel like we need to get more in tune with getting ready to go for the game,” Collazo said. “It’s more of what you do when you wake up in the morning, not so much when you get to the rink right before it starts.”
Despite the crushing loss, Collazo said he and his team did not take this defeat to heart. He said the main focus during practice will be working on penalty kills in preparation for their next game.
“We had a couple of breakdowns. Honestly, I feel if you take away a couple of those power-play goals, it’s a lot closer of a game,” Collazo said. “We just have to tighten a couple things up.”
The Rams played again Nov. 11 where they traveled to and faced off against UMass Dartmouth.