By Gavin Lindahl
Staff Writer
The hockey team finished last weekend with a pair of losses for the third straight week. After losing on the road Friday night against Niagara 3-2, the team saw a 7-6 loss against Canisius at home Saturday evening.
According to sophomore defenseman Billy Weltzer, the club didn’t walk away from the weekend totally empty-handed, despite the losses.
“Niagara is a flat-out great team with speed, size and skill – they have everything.” Weltzer said. “There is a reason they’re ranked No. 22 in the nation.”
According to Weltzer, the Bonnies grinded through the first period to assure a 0-0 tie going into the first intermission.
“We knew they would come out hard in the second period because they weren’t used to that kind of game from us,” Weltzer said. “They scored two quick goals, but knowing how we played in the first, we didn’t get that here-we-go-again mentality. We fought back and went into the third tied 2-2 – something no one could have predicted.”
According to Weltzer, a botched call sent sophomore defenseman Jake Piegay to the penalty box after delivering a massive hit.
“He threw the biggest hit I have ever seen in my 15 years of playing hockey, and the ref gave him an undeserved penalty after getting heckled by Niagara,” Weltzer said. “Niagara batted a puck out of the air into the net on the power play, and we just couldn’t poke one in after that.”
Despite the loss, Weltzer said he is proud of the team’s performance against Niagara.
“Losing was awful, but we took a lot of pride back with us knowing we can play hard,” Weltzer said. “It was funny to hear their line-up and hear kids’ names from all over the country who were probably recruits for their NCAA D-I team.”
Sophomore goalie Nick Gregorio said fatigue played a large part in the team’s loss to Canisius.
“Hockey is a rough sport, and it takes more than 15 hours to recover from a game, especially a fast, physical game like the Niagara one,” Gregorio said. “I saw 54 shots against Niagara. Most goalies won’t see 54 shots in an entire weekend, so having to play another game certainly wasn’t easy for me. I thought to myself, ‘I’ve never been this exhausted playing hockey in my entire life.’”
The team was tied with Canisius at the end of both periods. After some lucky bounces in the third, Canisius was able to close the game out with an empty-net goal, according to Weltzer.
According to Gregorio, the transition to becoming the team’s starting goalie this season has come relatively easy.
“Taking over this year has been awesome, and the number-one reason for that has been the guys in the locker room,” Gregorio said. “Last year, I came in as a freshman and got some time some days I played well, but others I didn’t. I wasn’t consistent, and I was nervous and doubted myself sometimes. But regardless of how I played, all the other guys in the room were supportive of me every step of the way.”
Gregorio said he is sure of his play and knows the team is behind him.
“I’ve proven to myself that I know I can compete at this level of play,” Gregorio said. “Skating onto the ice already knowing that I will do well is probably the best asset to my mental game.”
Losing five of seven games this season by only one goal, the 0-7 club is still looking for an answer to close games out, according to Weltzer.
“That’s honestly the toughest question so far,” Weltzer said. “We need the right mental toughness as a team to close out games.”
The team will take on Oswego for the second time this season tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. at the William O. Smith Recreation Center in Olean.
The last game against Oswego resulted in a 9-1 loss on the road. According to Weltzer, the Bonnies are looking forward to playing at home this time and hopefully in front of a packed house.
“I really hope a lot of people come, because we play great with a huge, loud crowd,” Weltzer said. “Last year, Oswego’s goalie said he had never been rattled before coming to St. Bonaventure. He gave up seven goals in two periods — that’s how much our fans can help.”
Weltzer said he hopes the team will continue to ride the energy boost that their strong game against Niagara brought.
“We saw against Niagara that we have the fight and the drive to stick with some of the best teams,” Weltzer said. “Hopefully, fans will come out and get rowdy and stick with us, even though we haven’t won the close games. We’ll turn our season around for our fans because we really appreciate the great job they’ve been doing.”
