BALTIMORE, MD (Friday, October 27, 2006) --
Navy's ice hockey team scored
three unanswered second period goals to overcome a 2-1 first period deficit
and went on to top Towson, 4-2, in an Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association
(ECHA) contest Friday night at the Mount Pleasant Ice Rink in Baltimore.
Senior Kevin Krmpotich paced the Middshipmen with a three goal hat trick and
freshman goaltender Eric Anderson recorded 26 saves to anchor Navy's
defense.
With the victory, the Mids improved their win-loss-overtime loss record to
6-1-1 overall and 5-0-1 in the ECHA. Towson's Tigers fell to 0-6-1 in the
ECHA.
Towson jumped on the scoreboard first when Tiger team captain Chad Sillery
swiped the puck while the Mids were on a power play and beat Anderson on a
breakaway at 8:04 of the first period.
Navy came back to tie the contest at 1-1 a little over a minute later when
Krmpotich registered a power play goal at 9:07 when he knocked home a
rebound off an initial shot from the blue line from senior defenseman Joe
Liles.
The Tigers regained their lead late in the period on a controversial goal
off the stick of Dan Coffey at the 18:04 mark. Referee Tim Apodaca
correctly ruled that the puck had crossed the goal line before the net was
knocked off its pegs in a crease collision.
A different Navy team took the ice in the second stanza, and the results
showed on the scoreboard.
Krmpotich pulled the Mids even at 2-2 just 30 seconds into the period with
an even strength goal, assists going to seniors Jim Doherty and Jay Alspach.
Krmpotich then put Navy ahead for good a little over two minutes later
with a power play tally at 2:42, assisted by Doherty and Liles.
The Mids later took a 4-2 lead thanks to the efforts of Alspach and junior
Derek Johnson. On a penalty kill, Johnson battled for a loose puck, then
from behind the net fed it to Alspach, who banged it past Towson netminder
R.J. Turnbull at the 7:40 mark.
On the night, the forward line of Johnson, Charlie Daniel, and Andrew Stoner
turned in an excellent performance with their aggressiveness and hustle.
Neither team scored in a tightly contested third period.
Of Anderson's 26 saves in the Navy net, several of them came off Towson
breakaways or 2-on-1 odd-man rushes. After Sillery scored the early first
period shorthanded goal, Anderson stopped two Sillery breakaway attempts
later in the game.
Turnbull recorded 40 saves for the Tigers, as Navy outshot Towson, 44-28.
Penalties were once again a factor in the contest, as referee Apodaca handed
out 24 infractions, 12 against each team. The frequent penalties created
several 5-on-3 opportunities for Towson and a couple for the Mids. Navy was
2-for-10 on its power play opportunities, while the Tigers were 0-for-11.
Navy is idle until next weekend, when the Midshipmen travel to Morgantown,
WV on Saturday to meet the Mountaineers at 4:15 p.m. at the Morgantown
Municipal Ice Arena. Next Sunday, Navy will face Washington & Jefferson at
the ICEOPLEX facility in Southpoint, PA, with the opening face-off set for
2:50 p.m.