Pandolfo, Special Teams Lead Terriers Past Mavericks
December 20, 2001 | Men's Ice Hockey
Senior left wing Mike Pandolfo (Burlington) scored a pair of goals and the Terrier hockey team tied a single-game high this season with three power play goals en route to a 4-1 win over host University of Nebraska-Omaha on Thursday night (December 20th).
For the nation's seventh-ranked Terriers, it was their third straight win as they improved their overall record to 11-3-1, while the Mavericks slipped to a 9-8-2. The two teams will conclude their two-game series on Friday night (December 21st).
It was the second time in three games that Pandolfo had a pair of goals as he also scored twice in the Terriers' 5-2 win over the University of Massachusetts/Amherst on December 7th. He now has five goals in his last four games, while, overall, he has at least one goal in nine of 15 games this season.
Both his goals on Thursday night came in the third period as he put a close game out of reach. With the Terriers leading by a slim one-goal margin, 2-1, entering the final period, Pandolfo scored his first goal off a pretty drop pass by freshman defenseman Bryan Miller (Wayne, NJ). The goal came at 5:38 of the final period, and, as it turned out, it was the team's only even strength goal of the game.
Then, with just 4:57 to play, Pandolfo deflected a shot from the right point by senior defenseman Pat Aufiero (Winchester). Senior defenseman Chris Dyment (Reading) slid the puck along the blue line to Aufiero, whose shot toward the crease was deflected by Pandolfo past UNO goalie Dan Ellis.
The goal came on the Terrier power play, their third extra-man goal of the game, tying the three-power-play-goal total they had against Harvard on November 20th. That night, they converted on 3-of-5 chances, while they were 3-of-8 against the Mavericks. In the meantime, Nebraska-Omaha was 0-for-4 on its power play chances against the Terriers.
"They had trouble staying with us, and they took penalties that led to our power play chances," Terrier head coach Jack Parker said after the game.
In addition to Pandolfo, juniors Brian Collins (Shrewsbury) and John Sabo (Harding Township, NJ) also scored on the Terrier power play.
Collins' goal, which tied the game, 1-1, came while the Terriers were enjoying a two-man advantage. Junior defenseman Freddy Meyer (Sanbornville, NH) fired the puck down low from the left point. Sabo collected the loose puck and got it out front to Collins who beat the Maverick goalie.
The score remained knotted at 1-1 at the end of the first period despite the Terriers enjoying a huge shot advantage. During the first 20 minutes of action, B.U. had 25 shots on net, 14 of which came during their four power play attempts. The 25-shot total was the most ever allowed in a period by a Nebraska-Omaha team, which is now in its sixth year of existence.
Sabo scored the only goal in the second period when he redirected a shot from the point by Meyer. Senior Jack Baker (South Boston) also earned an assist on the power play goal at the 3:50 mark.
That set the stage for Pandolfo's two third-period goals.
"I was very happy with how we played in the third period," said Parker. "And, it wasn't just because we scored two goals. We played solid defensively, and we didn't give them a sniff at a goal.
"Individually, I thought that Mike (Pandolfo) played a great game," said Parker. "I also thought that Jack Baker played a terrific game, and we also got some solid goaltending."
Sophomore Sean Fields (Edmonton, ALTA) had 19 saves en route to picking up the win. He made two sparkling saves, one each in the second and third periods. With 7:45 to play in the middle period, he stopped David Brisson, who was camped right in the slot. Then, with 6:27 to play in the game, he made a scoop save on a shot by Dan Hacker that was headed for the far right hand corner of the goal. The only shot that got by Fields came at 5:01 of the first period when he appeared to be screened on a shot by the Mavericks' Aaron Smith. The shot beat Fields to the glove side.
"I was very pleased with our effort tonight," said Parker.
"We wanted to play as hard as we could," said Pandolfo. "We were without three players who are at the World Junior Championships, and we are just coming off exams. But, we didn't want to come in with any excuses. We wanted to set the tempo right off the bat, and I think we did.
"They are a good team, though, and they will come out after us tomorrow night."
