BY: Ryan Jones, Recorder Sports
NEWINGTON, CT – Freshman Cam O’Connor had four goals and Sophmore Mason Boyhen had two others to lead Central Connecticut’s men hockey team as they opened their season with an 8-6 win over the visiting University of New Haven on Friday night at the Newington Ice Arena.
On Saturday night, senior team captain, Kevin Murphy scored twice and Freshman goalkeeper Mike Adorno was solid between the pipes to help the Blue Devils leave Massachusetts with a 5-5 tie on the road in a tough game with Bridgewater State University.
The Blue Devils did not come out of the gates hot against New Haven, falling behind 2-0 within the first 10 minutes of the first period.
Sophomore forward Ryan Berry got the Blue Devils on the board late in the first. Berry tallied the season’s first goal when he secured a juicy rebound before putting a shot into the open net with 3:30 left in the first to make it a 2-1 game.
The Blue Devils knotted the game when Boyhen, followed suit not long after, tying the game before the first period ended.
The ensuing two periods were an offensive clinic for the Blue Devils.
Just 15 seconds into the second frame, Central took the opening face-off and saw Boyhen land his second of the night off a shot from the left side.
Following Boyhen’s goal, the Blue Devils continued to berate New Haven, keeping the puck deep in the Nighthawk’s zone for the ensuing five minutes, but New Haven withstood the pressure and got things going and things quickly flipped south for the Blue Devils.
Two quick goals from the Nighthawks forced CCSU to remove starting netminder, Matthew Beckoff, and sub in freshman goalie Jared Apfelbaum.
The move proved to be a good one for first-year head coach, Mitch Beck, and the Blue Devils. Apfelbaum only allowed one goal for the remainder of the second.
After a CCSU goal from Murphy, the Blue Devils faced a five-on-four disadvantage the result of a tripping call. O’Connor’s hard work in the defensive zone was rewarded with a shorthanded goal to tie the game back up at five.
Senior James Huften buried a shot with four minutes left in the second to give CCSU a 6-5 lead, they would not relinquish.
O’Connor continued to lead the way for the Blue Devils, netting the hat trick before adding a fourth tally in the game.
“We weren’t at our best and we still found a way to win,” Beck said after the game, explaining how “it was gut-check time” for the team.
“Coming out of the gates with a dub (win) is crucial to the (team’s) mental state,” Beckoff said after the game. “Every game is like adding fuel to the engine, so if we can keep rolling and keep playing our brand of hockey like we did in the second and third, then I think that we can keep burying teams and keep fueling our fire.”
On Saturday in Bridgewater CCSU found a way to get a point out of that game after falling behind in that one too.
After a power play goal from Bridgewater, Berry tied the game for the Blue Devils with his second goal of the season with just two minutes left in the first. Bridgewater managed to draw a penalty only 30 seconds after Berry’s goal and quickly erased the tie to give them a 2-1 lead heading into the second period.
In the second period, the Blue Devils answered back with two quick goals to take a 3-2 lead over the Eagles.
Two Eagles went to the penalty box with the Blue Devils sending one of their own, and despite being shorthanded, Bridgewater got one on the board to tie the game at three.
BSU scored again to take the lead with nine minutes to play in the second. Neither team would score for the remainder of the period and it would take almost seven minutes into third for the score to change.
Murphy tallied again to tie the game for the Blue Devils. BSU responded with a quick goal of their own that gave them the lead again late, but it was the reigning conference MVP, Billy McKinley, who would land the critical game-tying goal, his first of the year, to tie the game at five, and sent the game into overtime.
Despite a late opportunity thanks to a BSU penalty, neither team notched a score in the extra frame with Adorno shining brightly and keeping the team in it. That allowed the Blue Devils to escape with their first tie of the year.
The Blue Devils will be on the road next week at an invitational tournament in New Jersey where they will face Rider on Friday night. Depending upon how they do in their game with Rider, they will face either The College of New Jersey or Seton Hall. On Sunday, the team travels to Montclair State for a huge divisional meeting.
