Friday, February 11, 1994.
Achilles Rink, Schenectady, NY
ECAC League Game
 
Vermont  1 2 1 0 - 4
Union    1 1 2 0 - 4
 
Scoring:
1st Period:
1) UVM, Ruid 2 (St. Louis, Perrin) 5:30
2) Union, Scott Boyd 5 (Ford, Stevens) 15:32
 
2nd Period:
3) UVM, Perrin 18 (Ducharme, St. Louis) 9:25 (pp)
4) Union, Cory Holbrough 9 (Albert, Will) 12:45
5) UVM, Ducharme 6 (St. Louis) 18:19 (pp)
 
3rd Period:
6) Union, Chris Ford 16 (Stevens) 4:36 (pp)
7) UVM, St. Louis 11 (Perrin) 14:19
8) Union, Bill Moody 4, 15:53
 
Overtime:
none.
 
Shots on goal: UVM 6-12-11-4--33, Union 14-10-10-3--37.
 
Power Play: UVM 2 of 3, Union 1 of 5.
 
Goalies: UVM, Thomas, 11-8-4 (37 shots, 33 saves)
         Union, Luigi Villa, 3-1-1 (33 shots, 29 saves)
 
Attendance: 1756
 
Summary:
 
Union came back from 4 one-goal deficits to tie Vermont Friday night
at Achilles Rink.  The point brought the Dutchmen one step closer to
their first-ever ECAC playoff berth.
 
Union played an excellent first period, outshooting Vermont by 14-6.
J.C. Ruid gave UVM a 1-0 lead, but Scott Boyd tied it for Union.
About the first 10 minutes were played with just one referee and one
linesman.  Referee John Gallagher showed up a bit late, apparently.
 
The Catamounts scored 2 power play goals in the second, with Union's
only goal of the period coming from Cory Holbrough.  The Dutchmen tied
the game at 3 early in the third on a goal by "the connection" - Chris
Ford on a pass from Troy Stevens.  Stevens skated the puck in, was
able to keep it as he skated behind the net, and found Ford out in
front.  Vermont took the lead back with just over 5 minutes left, but
it took Union less than 2 minutes to tie it up again.  Defenseman Bill
Moody took a relatively weak shot from the blue line, but it had
enough on it to deflect off a defenseman and past freshman goalie Tim
Thomas.  The teams played a scoreless overtime.
 
The thing that sticks out about this game is the play of Thomas in
goal for UVM.  He is the most aggressive goalie I've seen in college
hockey.  He is not afraid to leave his crease.  At one point in the
first, he came very close to the blue line to try to stop a potential
Union breakaway, and got involved in the corners more than once.  He
was lucky that Union was unable to take advantage.  He also seemed
very confident.  Most goalies try to always stay ready and in
position, but Thomas looked like he would relax and lean back on the
net, even with the play in the Vermont zone.  But as far as talent as
a goalie, I can see why he's one of the top rookie goaltenders in the
league.
 
The other thing about this game was the officiating.  I don't know if
it really made much of a difference, but the referees, particularly
Pierre Belanger, were very inconsistent.  They missed offsides calls
both ways.  Belanger is also a very arrogant ref.  He isn't going to
let anyone forget who's the most important person on the ice..  It's a
style you don't see much of from the other ECAC refs.  Hopefully,
he'll be up in Troy tonight instead of back at Achilles.
 
With the tie, Union gains another point in their cushion over Yale and
Dartmouth for the 10th and final ECAC playoff spot.  Union has a 4
point advantage over Yale, and 5 over Dartmouth, with 5 games
remaining for all 3.  Union can pretty much take care of Dartmouth
with a win tonight when the Big Green come to Achilles.  The Dutchmen
are 4-9-2 in the ECAC, 8-9-3 overall.
 
--
Jim Teresco, Department of Computer Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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