The Official News Letter of PENN Men's Ice Hockey                                                                                            Issue #59, October 24, 2007

October 19, 2007
PENN 2
Wagner 6

October 20, 2007
PENN 0
William Paterson 6

NEWS AND NOTES

Penn Hockey alumni and friends returned to the Class of 1923 Ice Rink over Homecoming Weekend for the 3rd Annual Alumni Hockey Game.  Some photos of the event can be found here and here (professional photos).

Photos of the new Penn Hockey locker-room can be found here.

Photos of most Penn home games from Breakaway Photography can be found here.

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PENNalty Box Archive

After dispensing with Columbia last weekend in a non-league game, the Quakers faced a set of tough league opponents over Homecoming weekend, and on both nights, they found themselves on the wrong side of a lop-sided scoreboard. Friday night against Wagner College the Quakers were outshot 44-22, and outscored 6-2.

In a penalty riddled game, the Quakers were often on the wrong side of the power-play, and they didn’t have much luck killing them off, especially when it came to 5 on 3, a difficult kill for any team.  There were, however, positives for the Quakers. David Farber, who had a pair of goals against Columbia, continues to make things happen when he’s on the ice. He showed tremendous speed against Wagner.  In the first period he was flying, applying solid checks to almost everything in sight, and frequently beating Wagner players to the puck. At one point he split through the Wagner defense on a breakaway that had the Penn fans on the edge of their seats.

Wagner controlled the game early, and Penn withstood the attack until finally surrendering a goal after Wagner fired several shots at close range. Penn answered back on an electrifying play that saw Tim Horn feed Minnesota native Riley Tagtmeyer, who then buried a wrister top-shelf past the helpless Wagner goaltender. It was a goal similar to the one he scored against Columbia, and the kind of goal, because of the timing of it, that could have swung momentum, but the Quakers took a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct immediately following the goal. It was a questionable call at best, but Penn still found themselves having to kill off an untimely penalty. The Wagner power-play unit capitalized on the ensuing opportunity and took a 2-1 lead into the second.

Berkeley Dietvorst made a few highlight reel stops, but two Wagner goals were scored on shots thrown at the net from a distance. Assistant Captain Sam Lerer netted an unassisted goal, firing a laser to the top corner of the net, but the defecit was already too great and the goal didn’t seem to rattle the Wagner squad who just came out and hit with even more tenacity.  The third period brought more penalty trouble as the Quakers started to retaliate on players who were nowhere near the puck, but directly in front of the officials.  

The competition didn’t get any easier the next night, in fact, it became significantly greater, as William Paterson University arrived at the rink, sitting comfortably amongst the top teams in the Southeast,  and having scored a remarkable 76 goals early in the season. Paterson has been averaging just less than 8 goals per game, a steep challenge for the Quakers to say the least.

In the first period the Quakers survived a series of giveaways in their own zone. On the other end of the ice they drew a penalty and applied good pressure with the ensuing power play but couldn’t get on the scoreboard. They made it through the first period down just 1-0. They killed off an early penalty in the second, keeping it a one-goal game with the help of Dietvorst, who made some brilliant stops at close range, drawing congratulatory punches from his teammates.

Facing a dangerous offense, midway through the second, the squad was still only a well-placed shot away from tying the game, but it was the Pioneers who got the next goal, and then the next 4 as the visitors continued to apply pressure, firing multiple shots on goal, and in the end, accumulating a total of 45. One thing is for certain, Dietvorst is becoming an expert at the skill of flicking the puck from his glove back to the official after a save.

“This is a young team with a bright future. They’re still learning to play together.” General Manager Whit Matthews said after the game, “The two teams we played this weekend are the toughest teams in the division. They stuck with WPU for a good portion of the game tonight.” In the end, the score was 6-0. 

Dietvorst has shown the capability of making the big save when the game is close. Farber has shown he has the speed to make things happen, and Tagtmeyer has shown a knack for burying a puck in the back of the net when he has the opportunity. The squad played tough, refused to go down quietly, and it was Tim Siegmund, big number 67, who raced down the boards with just seconds left in regulation in a desperate attempt to help his team avoid being shut-out.

That’s pride.