Men's hockey loses opener in close game

By Cecile Nguyen

The Santa Clara men's club hockey team lost their season opener, 10-8, in a hard-fought, penalty-filled game against Stanford last Saturday.

The Cardinal lead the Broncos by as much as four goals, but Santa Clara fought back and made the game very close at the end.

"It was a terrific game," said Head Coach Lou Caputo. "We definitely gave the fans their money's worth tonight."

Santa Clara performed in front of roughly 200 students and Bronco supporters, a large turnout for a club sport event.

The Broncos scored three consecutive goals in the span of five minutes in the third period to make the score 9-8 with less than two minutes remaining.

Two undisciplined Cardinal penalties created a 6-on-3 situation when Santa Clara pulled their goaltender Chris McNamara for an extra skater in the final minute of the game.

The Broncos assaulted Stanford's goalie as the game drew to a close, firing shot after shot toward the Cardinal net, but failed to connect on any attempt. Santa Clara squandered three quality chances at a possible win and failed to capitalize on the three-man advantage.

The Cardinal's Taku Ide put the Broncos' hopes to rest with an empty-netter as the clock winded down, capping off a terrific four-goal performance for the Stanford forward.

"Santa Clara took it to us; they were persistent," said Ide. "They gave us a scare at the end."

The Cardinal came out strong in the first period and dictated the majority of play early by constantly attacking the Broncos' zone.

Great saves by McNamara and the defensive plays of sophomore Charlie Clark helped keep the Broncos and the Cardinal tied at zero early in the first.

"It's because of Chris that we stayed in the game," captain Steve Barbieri said. "He faced like 61 shots and made 52 saves. He was very impressive."

Santa Clara jumped out to an early lead on defenseman Justin Perna's goal.

Perna skated alone into Stanford's zone and fired a low shot from the right slot that trickled pass the Cardinal's goalie, giving the Broncos their first goal of the season.

The Broncos could not maintain their slim lead as they lost their composure and were bombarded with penalties.

"We have to stay out of the box," Clark said. "That way we're well rested. We were cycling two or three guys."

Santa Clara defenseman Alex Nelson received a ten-minute misconduct for snapping his stick against the crossbar in frustration after having allowed Stanford's second goal late in the first period.

Barbieri would later help tie the game up at 2-2 when he carried the puck from the neutral zone and curled behind the Stanford net before making the perfect pass to Nick Casini, who was left unmarked in front of the net.

Two quick goals by Stanford put the Broncos down 4-2 halfway through the second period.

Special teams ruled after Casini's goal. Stanford scored seven power play goals, and the Broncos got three short-handed goals.

"It's the start-up year, and there's lots of stuff to work on," said freshman John Riley. "But Saturday, we showed potential. We just need to work on the little things."

The club added eight new players to the roster this season, some from as far as Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

"We have a great bunch of guys on the team" Barbieri said. "Everyone fits in extremely well. The new guys are a welcome addition to the team."

This is the club's first season as part of the newly formed North Division in the Pacific Collegiate Hockey Association.

"We're such a new team, a young team," Barbieri added. "Even though we're a club sport, we want to prove that we compete just as hard as any varsity team."

The Broncos remain confident about the upcoming season despite losing their first match.

"We expect to make the playoffs," said Caputo. "We want to play for our Stanley Cup, the PCHA championship."

Contact Cecile Nguyen at (408) 551-1918 or cnguyen5@scu.edu