ODENTON, MD (Friday, January 5, 2007) – Navy’s ice hockey team
surrendered
two goals late in the third period -- including one while the Midshipmen
were attempting to kill a five-minute major penalty -- and went on to fall
to the University of Delaware, 6-4, Friday night at the Piney Orchard Ice
Rink.
With the non-league loss, Navy fell to 10-5-1 overall this season, while
Delaware’s Blue Hens improved to 12-7.
The Midshipmen jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead thanks to a pair of
power play goals from senior Joe Liles at 11:44 and classmate Adam Sheppard
at 17:04.
Delaware cut the Navy lead to 2-1 with a goal from Justin Wehrenberg just 37
seconds after Sheppard’s tally, at 17:41. The Blue Hens then pulled ahead
3-2 in the second stanza on the strength of a power play goal from Justin
Sexton at 8:03 and an even strength tally from Kari Marttinen at 11:45.
The Mids rallied to even the score at 3-3 thanks to a Kevin Krmpotich even
strength goal at 12:23, but Delaware pulled ahead 4-3 on a John Colford
tally with just 39 seconds remaining in the period.
In the third period of this see-saw contest, Navy battled back again to knot
the score, 4-4, when Jeff Martin recorded the Mids’ third power play goal of
the night, coming at the 11:45 mark.
With the outcome hanging in the balance, the Blue Hens put the game out of
reach on a goal from Kevin Neeld at 17:46, while Navy was attempting to kill
off a Patrick Sullivan five-minute major penalty for head butting. Delaware
had successfully killed a five-minute major of its own, for grabbing a
Midshipmen’s face mask, just a minute-and-a-half earlier.
Up 5-4, the Blue Hens added their final tally of the game at 18:27, off the
stick of Aaron Chockla.
Navy netminder Eric Anderson finished with 44 saves, while his counterpart
Jim Depfer recorded 30 saves for the Blue Hens, as Delaware outshot the
Mids, 50-34.
Referee Tim Apodaca called 24 penalties, including 12 in the third period
alone, resulting in 37 total penalty minutes for Navy and 25 for Delaware.
The Midshipmen next host West Virginia Saturday (Jan. 6) night at 8 p.m.,
also at Piney Orchard Ice Rink in Odenton.
SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST PERIOD
N – Liles (Krmpotich, Alspach) 11:44
N – Sheppard (Sullivan) 17:04
D – Wehrenberg (Colletti, Colford) 17:41
SECOND PERIOD
D- Sexton (Atkinson, Martinnen) 8:03
D – Martinnen (Sexton, Stouch) 11:45
N – Krmpotich (Liles, Doherty) 12:23
D – Colford (Baumgartner, Gardner) 19:21
THIRD PERIOD
N – Martin (Anliker, Sullivan) 11:45
D – Neeld (Belknap, Chockla) 17:46
D – Chockla (Belknap) 18:27
SAVES
Depfer (Delaware) 7 13 10 - 30
Anderson (NAVY) 11 14 19 - 44
SHOTS
Delaware 12 17 21 - 50
NAVY 9 14 11 - 34