The University at Buffalo continued their resurgent season Monday night at Hyde Park with a 5-1 victory over Niagara County Community College. The win moves the Bulls to 7-1-1 on the year as they continue to reestablish their place back with the elite teams of the Upstate New York Collegiate Hockey League.
The loss was a sour note for NCCC on a night where they did plenty of good off the ice with their Shoot For A Cure Breast Cancer Awareness Fundraiser.
Student Life at NCCC sold pink t-shirts and handed out pink pom-poms to a healthy crowd on hand for the Monday night matchup. Proceeds from a basket raffle and other fundraising were donated to Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center during an on-ice check presentation during the second intermission.
It was a 1-1 game through two periods, but the 2019-20 UNYCHL Champion Bulls put together a four-goal 3rd period to pull away from the home-side Thunderwolves.
The 2nd power play goal of the game for UB’s Noah Lamie at 3:26 of the 3rd made it 2-1 for the Bulls. Six minutes later, Cam Bass started a quick parade of UB goals. Jaret Pawarski scored 40 seconds after Bass on a pretty individual effort, then a minute later Shane Tyrie potted the game’s final goal.
Neither team scored in an entertaining, back-and-forth opening period. Even though UB didn’t score, they began to seize control, spending more time in the offensive zone and establishing a possession advantage.
NCCC took three penalties in the 1st, the last one carrying over into the middle period. It was on that man advantage that Noah Lamie would score the game’s first goal not even a minute into the 2nd. Assists on the power play goal were credited to Brandon Licursi and Josh Abbott, both defensemen. However, UB employed the big frame of Abbott as a net-front presence on the power play throughout the night
The Thunderwolves drew even with 15:46 remaining in the 2nd. Gavin Cerillo’s 3rd of the year, assisted by Joe Lobrutto and Kyle Quintern made it 1-1.
That score held up for nearly 20 minutes of game-play, thanks in part to NCCC goaltender Austin Bailor, who was excellent in his first start of the year.
But the UB zone-time advantage continued to be a factor in the second period, and by the time the 3rd was halfway over, you could see how the Bulls had worn down the opposing defenders. Passing lanes that weren’t there early started to appear and UB took advantage.
Ryan O’Donnell got the win in the net for UB and while his counterpart faced more shots, O’Donnell was called upon to make several key stops on high-danger chances. He kept the T-Wolves at bay until the offense could break through.
Now 7-1-1 on the season, the Bulls have almost equaled their win total from last year of 9. NCCC’s record fell to 3-2 with the loss.
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Elsewhere in the UNYCHL, Brockport also held a breast cancer awareness event this weekend as they hosted Fredonia on Friday night.
The night was about awareness in general and playing for those who suffer or have a loved one suffering from breast cancer. Brockport players were each given small signs on which they wrote who or what they were “fighting for.”
“The atmosphere was a different vibe where the outcome of the game seemed to not matter as much as others,” said Brockport Captain C.J. Mason. “It was more important for our players to play for a good cause and compete for our fans who support us.”
The Brockport-Fredonia game was one of four UNYCHL games to go to overtime last weekend with Fredonia winning 8-7.
