WEST CHESTER, PA (Friday, February 16, 2007) -- Navy's ice hockey team
scored a pair of third period goals to break a 2-2 deadlock and edged
Lehigh, 4-3, in the opening round of the Eastern Collegiate Hockey
Association (ECHA) playoffs Friday afternoon at the Ice Line Arena in West
Chester, PA.
With the victory, the Midshipmen improved their overall season record to
19-9-1.
More importantly, third-seeded Navy now advances to the semi finals of the
ECHA playoffs and will face second-seeded University of Rhode Island (URI)
tomorrow (Saturday) at 2:15 p.m. at Ice Line Arena.
Top-seeded West Chester will meet fifth-seeded Drexel (which upset
fourth-seeded West Virginia, 2-1, on Friday afternoon) tomorrow at 5 p.m.
If the Mids defeat URI tomorrow, they will play for the ECHA championship
this Sunday at 2 p.m., also at Ice Line Arena, against the West
Chester-Drexel winner.
Juniors Nick Schwob and Drew Stoner (who returned to action after missing
several games due to injury) scored Navy’s first period goals Friday
afternoon.
Lehigh senior forward Will Fawley scored the only goal of the second stanza,
coming on a shorthanded breakaway. The sixth-seeded Mountain Hawks then
tied the game at 2-2 with an even strength Chris Mailloux tally early in the
third period.
But Navy junior Eric Smitley scored a short time later to put the Midshipmen
back in front, 3-2, with just over 15 minutes remaining in the final period,
and Schwob scored his second goal of the day on a power play at 13:42 to
extend the Navy lead to 4-2.
Lehigh trimmed the margin to 4-3 with an even strength goal from Matt Murphy
at the 15:49 mark.
But neither team found the net over the game’s final four minutes, sending
Navy into tomorrow’s ECHA semi-finals.
Freshman Navy goaltender Eric Anderson played very well and made 35 saves to
earn the win for the Mids. Junior Mitch DePace finished with 33 saves and
suffered the loss in the nets for the Mountain Hawks.
Scoring by Periods 1 2 3 F
Lehigh 0 1 2 3
NAVY 2 0 2 4