Mile Palladino '09, David Layne '10 & Jeff Beck '10 Give Cards First-Ever Win over Colby, 2-1
In a must-win situation at Colby Sat., Feb. 14, the Cardinals did something no other Wesleyan men's ice hockey team has accomplished - defeat Colby. With goalie Mike Palladino '09 (#31, photo insert upper right by SteveMcLaughlinPhotography.com) holding the Mules off the board for 59:31, and Jeff Beck '10 (#8, photo insert lower middle) netting what proved to be the game-winner just 6:25 into the contest, Wesleyan skated off with a 2-1 victory.
Coming in to the contest with an 0-18-2 all-time record vs. Colby, and trailing Tufts for the final spot in the NESCAC tournament by four points (and sitting one point behind Colby), Wesleyan gave itself two valuable prizes. With Tufts coming away with a tie vs. Southern Maine, Wesleyan stood three points shy of the Jumbos, whom the Cardinals defeated this year, and a point up on Colby in the playoff race. Wesleyan closed out the regular season hosting Castleton St. Fri., Feb. 20 and Skidmore Sat., Feb. 21. A loss in either game or a win by Tufts in either of its final two games at UMass Boston or Babson would knock the Cardinals from playoff contention.
Things did not go the Cardinals' way vs. Castleton as the Spartans hung on for a 3-2 victory. It proved to be inconsequential as Tufts broke a 2-2 tie with UMass Boston after two periods to clinch the final playoff spot with a 4-2 win.
Back at Colby, David Layne '09 got things started early for the visitors with his team-leading sixth goal of the season just 4:51 into the game. Tom Salah '12 picked up the assist. Beck made it a 2-0 Wesleyan lead only 1:34 later with A.J. Ferraro '12 and Anthony DePietto '11 picking up the helpers.
From that point, the teams played scoreless hockey for more than 53 minutes as Palladino collected 32 saves. With its goalie on the bench in favor of a sixth attacker for the final 1:30, Colby cashed in with a mere 29 seconds remaining to break up Palladino's shutout bid. Still, Wesleyan got through the final seconds unscathed to pick up the all-important first-ever win over Colby in the 21st meeting between the squads.
Castleton never trailed at Wesleyan, taking a 2-0 lead in the first period before Todd Keats '11 made it a 2-1 game with 11 seconds left in the opening stanza with a power-play goal. Though the Spartans again moved ahead by two early in the second period, Dallas Bossort '09 sent a screaming slap shot into the net six minutes into the frame to again make it a one-goal game. There was no further scoring despite each team have several power-play chances. The Cards had a two-man edge in the final five minutes for 43 seconds, then pulled Palladino with 2:08 to go to gain another two-skater advantage for another 47 seconds but could not make it pay off.
The season ended with the home game vs. Skidmore Saturday. Wesleyan forged a 5-5 tie in overtime, recovering from a 3-1 deficit in the first period. Leading the attack was Sam Robinson '10 (#24, main photo by SteveMcLaughlinPhotography,com) with a goal and two assists, giving him a team-high 17 points on the year. He set up Keats with a perfect pass late in the second period for a power-play goal that gave the Cards a 5-4 lead. Wesleyan scored three man-up goals in the contest. Skidmore tied the game with 6:27 to play and it stayed that way through overtime.
Despite a record that left them short of making the NESCAC tournament, the Cardinals are one of just two squads to knock off conference leader Amherst during league play this season, and that 1-0 triumph, along with Amherst's 6-0 victory over Williams, which beat Wesleyan by the same score, gave Wesleyan a piece of the Little Three title this season.
