On Fri, 7 Mar 2003, Andy Weise wrote:

> RPI scored on 2 breakaways in the second period and Union could only
> manage one shot past Nathan Marsters, as RPI takes the first game of their
> playoff series, 2-1.
>
> Once again, Union dominated the game and did everything but score. Marsters
> made a number of good saves on excellent scoring chances by Union to keep
> them out of the net.

Yes, a very frustrating night for Union.  A 38-14 shot advantage, and
they got beaten by a couple of breakaways.  And even the goal Union
did score went in off an RPI skate with a crazy bounce.  Union had
plenty of chances, and if they come out with that same effort Saturday
night, they'll have a great chance to win.  I thought for sure Union
had tied it on at least two occasions late in the third.

So this is 4 solid games in a row by Union, and all they have to show
for it is 1 win, and a big hole to dig themselves out of in this
best-of-three.

In the something-you-don't-see-every-day department, Union was skating
with a delayed penalty upcoming against RPI.  Goalie Kris Mayotte was
making his way to the bench for the extra skater.  Just before Mayotte
made it to the blue line, almost ready to get on the bench, the puck
came to him and he played it.  Apparently, the extra skater had
already jumped into the play, because Union was called for too many
men.

Has Marsters played like this all year?  If so, I don't see how RPI
ended up where they did in the standings.

For those who have been watching this rivalry for a while, this game
felt a lot like the first game of the 1997 playoff series over in
Troy.  In that game, Union outshot RPI 39-18, but RPI's Joel Laing was
the difference, and RPI took the game, 3-1, including an empty-netter.

One bit of good news for Union is that the orange security (the fruit,
not the terrorist alert level) paid off and not a single one was
thrown when Union got on the board in the third.

--
Jim Teresco - [log in to unmask]
http://www.teresco.org