In a clash against their varsity ‘B’ division rivals, Holy Cross skated to a 2-2 tie against the Xaverian Clippers on Monday night in Flushing.
Both teams hit the ice with a fast-paced first period, rushing from end to end while laying some crushing body checks along the way.
Knights’ sophomore Mike Donato opened the scoring in the first period with a wicked snap shot past Xaverian sophomore goalie John Franco Formica.
The Clippers tied the score at 1-1 four minutes later with a tally from senior Sean Kirby, but the Knights nearly took the lead with a short-handed breakaway chance in the closing seconds of the first.
A rash of penalties in the second period nearly sunk the Knights, but senior goaltender Anthony Sibilio, who stopped 22 of 24 shots, showed icy confidence in net. He kept the game close, only yielding one power play goal to Clippers’ junior Joseph Esposito after being down a man for what seemed like an eternity.
If not for the outstanding play of his goalie, Knights’ coach Kevin Goodspeed believes the outcome could have been disastrous for the team.
“We got a great game from our goalie tonight,” said Goodspeed. “He kept us in the game when it could have really gotten away from us in the second period.”
Holy Cross had a brief two-man advantage in the third period, but the Clippers’ (5-3-1) stingy defense would not allow them to break through. Both teams are tied with 11 points, leaving them within striking distance of a playoff spot.
With the next two games being against the top teams in their division, the Knights (4-3-3) have to come up big on the road if they want to stay in the playoff race.
Goodspeed believes his team has the potential to compete against the division leaders, if they can bury the puck when the opportunity presents itself and also avoid stretches like last night’s second period.
“We can’t blame the referee for the way things went in the second,” said Goodspeed. “We played excellent and put forth a great effort, but we have to learn to take advantage of our opportunities.”
