Game 19 vs. Jersey Penguins
Game 19: 11/6/04 vs. Jersey Penguins (W 6-2)
The Colonials looked to continue their dominating play as of late as they got ready for a Saturday afternoon matchup with the Jersey Penguins at Union Sports Arena. They were going up against Sergei Starikov who played on the 1980 USSR Olympic team now coaching with the Penguins. Coach DiGangi had this to say before the game, "Sure its intimidating coaching against a former professional player but you can't look at it like that. I trust that my kids will give me everything they've got and that's all that matters. I've done my homework on the European style of play that he teaches and we'll be ready for them." Another player who was ready for the game was Corey DeFranco who was with the Penguins just last year and really wanted to show his old team what he can do. His line got the start as did Geoff Durham in goal. Both teams came out on fire but the Colonials couldn't seem to catch any lucky breaks. It seemed as if every clearing attempt they attempted hit a body or a stick and came back into the zone. The Penguins struck first blood as a player came into the zone and sent a shot through a screen that Durham didn't pick up until the last second and it snuck in short side. The Penguins kept pressuring as defenseman James Bellush tried to make a pass up ice but hit a Penguins skate and resulted in a breakaway and he fired a puck past Durham for a blocker side goal and they were up 2-0. In typical Colonial fashion, the away team had fallen behind early but they were not out yet. The shots were in their favor 16-4 at the end of the first but the score was not reflective as such. That would all change in the second however as Jay Sogliuzzo gave the puck to Brian Dixon down low who deked out everyone and brought it to the front of the net and slid it through the goalie's legs. The flood gates opened and the Colonials took control. On the very next shift Buzz Sobieski stole a puck behind the net and found a wide open Matt Fullam for the goal and the game was tied. The Colonials were buzzing and the Penguins couldn't stop the bleeding. Jackson Udelsman kept a puck in the zone and fired a shot and DeFranco slid in the rebound on the empty net to make it 3-2 for a little revenge on the old team. He then took a nasty late hit to the head which drew a penalty and was out of pure frustration as the Penguins had just coughed up the lead. They wouldn't stop there however as the road team would receive goals from Mikey Lundberg, another from Fullam and Mike Postorino. The Colonials scored 6 unanswered goals to get a league win on the road. They improve to 5-1-1 in the league and begin a 2 game non-league stretch starting tomorrow against the Rockets AAA Minor. The two teams know each other very well so it should be interesting.
Dixon (Sogliuzzo)
Fullam (Sobieski)
DeFranco (Udelsman)
Lundberg (Sogliuzzo, Sobieski)
Fullam (Lundberg)
Postorino (Matarazzo, Sobieski)
Geoff Durham: 8 saves (2 goals allowed)
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