By Taylor Nigrelli
Assistant Sports Editor
The hockey team (4-5) hosts RIT (2-10) tonight at 8:30 in Olean’s William O. Recreation Center. This is the first of two meetings between the teams this season.
According to junior captain Mike Iulianello, it’s important for the Bonnies to put forth the same effort regardless of the level of their competition.
“We’re trying to make our place in the league known,” Iulianello said. “If we want to make the playoffs, we have to win games like this. We can’t let up and we can’t play down to their level.”
Junior forward Sean Perhacs said no divisional opponent should be taken lightly.
“Anyone can beat anyone in this league,” Perhacs said. “We’ve seen it happen, we’ve come close against some very good teams, so we can’t really take anyone lightly.”
The matchup against RIT comes after a 5-3 Brown and White victory over Cornell before Thanksgiving break.
Iulianello broke open the scoring early with a goal less than two minutes into the game. After two unanswered Cornell goals, Perhacs tied the game at two near the end of the first period. After the four-goal first, the second period was scoreless. Iulianello said the lack of goals was due to a shift in the team’s style of play between the periods.
“We got a lot of chances early and we made the most of them,” Iulianello said. “We kind of slowed down and played a more controlled game in the second period.”
The Bonnies re-opened the scoring in the third with goals from Perhacs, sophomore forward Jake DiGello and freshman forward Mike Griffin. According to Perhacs, the scoring spree was a result of the play of multiple lines.
“All three lines were really clicking,” Perhacs said. “We got goals from all three and even if they weren’t scoring, guys were doing the little things right.”
In addition to the four total goals, the third period featured eight penalties between the teams after just one penalty was called in the first two periods combined. According to Iulianello, the contest became an emotional one for both teams in the third period.
“Emotions were definitely running high in the third period,” Iulianello said. “There was a lot of going back and forth between players and even between coaches. I feel like we were frustrated with everything but we took a step back and said ‘we’re up a couple of goals and we don’t want to be out the next game.’ It was good on our part to get out of the game with no suspensions.”
Perhacs said games against Cornell tend to be very physical.
“For some reason there’s always an extra spark when we play Cornell,” Perhacs said. “We knew it was going to get a little chippy, so we were telling everyone to keep their cool so we didn’t lose anyone.”
Iulianello ended the game with a goal and two assists while Perhacs scored two goals. This is nothing new as the duo and their linemate, senior Thomas Meka, have scored 21 of the team’s 37 goals thus far. According to Perhacs, the line had high expectations coming into the season.
“Mike (Iulianello) and I played together last year and did well before I left to study abroad,” Perhacs said. “Meka came in and played really well with Mike, so we had high hopes coming into the year.”
Iulianello said he and his line mates know what is expected of them each game.
“We know what we have to do,” Iulianello said. “We have to come in and set the tone, we have to put pucks in the net, and we have to be working hard.”
Perhacs believes the rest of the team has improved as the top line has gotten better.
“There are a few lines on the team that we have confidence in this year,” Perhacs said. “It gives us confidence too, knowing the whole team is going to contribute.”
