Game 28 vs. Ithaca
Game 28: 11/28/04 vs. Ithaca (L 3-2)
After having an excellent tournament this is how the standings boiled down. The Colonials played Ithaca Sunday morning and if Ithaca could somehow pull off the upset they would be tied with the Colonials in points. The first tiebreaker would be head to head and they would sneak in on that tiebreaker. Both teams were extremely aware of this as they went into the morning game. All the Colonials had to do was tie or win and they would play Sunday afternoon in the championship game against the same Senators they came so close to beating the day before. Things were looking good from the start as the Colonials looked like they wanted to end it in the first period. Mike Lundberg came flying out of the zone on a 1 on 1 and picked up some help at the blue line as Mike Formichella came out of nowhere and took the pass and went in all alone on the goaltender Zach Wilder. He fired a shot over the blocker for his second goal in as many games. The Colonials wouldn't stop there as James Bellush fired a puck in from the point. Brian Dixon picked up the rebound that Wilder saved but couldn't save the third shot from Matt Daugherty and the lead was 2-0. Everything was looking good until the Colonials started getting called for some undisciplined penalties. They had been living dangerously all weekend in the penalty box and the gamble would finally hurt them. Eric Visnovsky had been playing excellent in goal but couldn't do much but watch as Ithaca scored 3 straight unanswered power play goals. The Colonials had their chances including their own 5 on 3 but they couldn't seem to get on the same page and the game would end at 3-2. It was an ugly one but a lesson learned as you can't win if you keep taking penalties. Ithaca would sneak in on a tiebreaker last minute and the Colonials had a long drive back to NJ. It was a well-fought tournament and the Morristown-based team came one goal away from making it even better but it was not meant to be. The Colonials start up league play again next weekend as they face off against the Red Bank Generals Saturday night and the Hollydell Hurricans Sunday afternoon.
Formichella (Lundberg)
Daugherty (Dixon, Bellush)
Eric Visnovsky: 21 saves (3 goals allowed)
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