Ice Hockey Beats Interstate Rival ODU

On Friday at the Hampton Roads IcePlex, the Ice Hockey team looked a little different than usual. As they came out of the locker room, they were sporting brand new silver jerseys, with the new Christopher Newport University Athletic logo making an appearance on the front. As they were set to face their biggest rival in the Old Dominion University Monarchs, what better time to show off their new sportswear? What was even better was the fact that they skated to a 6-1 victory in front of the home crowd.

The game definitely lived up to the hype of the rivalry with fast skating, hard shots, and huge hits.
The first period was nothing but physical, as each team was trying to win possession of the puck, but at the conclusion of the period, neither team had scored a goal.

Three minutes into the second period the Captains got on the board with their first goal. Sophomore forward Ryan Dove put the puck in the back of the net on an unassisted shot.

Four minutes later, the Monarchs equalized on a shot right in front of the net to level out the scoreboard. As the second period was coming to a close it looked like the teams were going into the locker room for the second time all locked up in a tie.

But the Captains had other ideas. With about four minutes left in the second period, junior forward Tyler Bemis out skated the ODU goalie to give the Captains the lead heading into the third period 2-1. The shot was assisted by senior defensemen Jon Dalziel and Freshman Matt Scott.

The third period turned out to be the most explosive period for the Captains. The Monarchs would not get another shot past senior goalie Nick Thompson.

“We moved the puck well, kept it out of our zone, and made passes,” said Thompson.

Junior forward Mark Dungan scored the first goal of the third period unassisted.

The playing style changed in the third period, and that was easy to see as Dungan said, “we had a tight first period, so in the third we had to step up.”

Five minutes later CNU got on the board again, as the goal came on a beautiful wrist shot by sophomore forward Ryan Lafayette, with the assist by Dalziel and sophomore defender Kevin Koss.
The Captains weren’t done yet as they struck again three minutes later when senior defenseman Kevin Schreiber sent the puck into the back of the net on two great assists from Scott and Dungan.
The third period turned out to be what every ODU versus CNU matchup is as pushing and shoving began to increase, as player after player was sent to the penalty box.

To seal the win, senior forward Brian Bowser scored another goal, as Schreiber and senior defender Tate Dietrich grabbed the assists.

The CNU hockey hooligans were in full effect Friday night as the Hampton Roads Iceplex was so crowded, navigating the rink became a challenge.

“This is the biggest crowd I have ever seen,” said Dungan, “the fans keep us going late in the third period.”

Because the game fell on Family Weekend, a lot of players were happy to put on such an impressive show with family in attendance.

“My parents came down, it was a nice surprise,” said Thompson.

The ODU game may be one of the biggest games of the Ice Hockey season, and a win is always more than desirable for the Captains.

Dungan’s twin brother plays for ODU, and when asked about the win he responded, “I beat my brother, and we got the win against our rival at our rink.”

This weekend, the Captains travel to Florida to take on University of Central Florida on Friday, Embry-Riddle on Saturday, followed by University of Florida on Sunday.