Game 44 vs. Staten Island Rangers
Game 44: 2/12/05 vs. Staten Island Rangers (T 5-5)
Anyone who came to the Saturday night matchup of the Colonials vs. the Staten Island Rangers was in for a weird yet fun game. The Colonials came out in absolute sleep mode and the Rangers definitely caught them off guard. Nick Zerbo and company of the Rangers opened up the scoring early and didn't stop for the whole first period. In a matter of just 5 minutes the Rangers jumped out to a huge 4-0 lead. The Colonials seemed stunned and Coach DiGangi called a much needed timeout just 6 minutes into the game. He gathered the troups and gave them some advice. "I basically told them not to even look at the scoreboard for the rest of the game. It's going to be an uphill battle and that sometimes it doesn't come easy but we're going to chip away at it with hard work, one goal at a time." The time out definitely calmed the team down and stopped the bleeding. The first period ended 4-0 in favor of SIR. In the beginning of the second period Brian Dixon and Danny Kane exchanged goals to make it 5-1 showing this game would definitely prove to be a challenge. It was looking bleak for the home team until late in the second period Dixon went to work shorthanded. He stole a puck behind the net and took it to the front and put it in between Kevin McAvoy's legs to cut the lead to 5-2. This seemed to rejuvenate the Colonials and you can tell the tables were turning. Just 30 seconds into the third period on the power play Jay Sogliuzzo brought a puck to the front of the net and backhanded a beautiful pass to Mike Postorino in front of the net who buried it. The lead was only two goals now and the home team just kept chipping away. Later on in the period Matt Fullam would set up Dixon for his third goal of the game for the hat trick. The Colonials could taste blood and they knew they were still in this. At 10:33 of the final frame the comeback was completed. Matt Daugherty gave a pass over to Steve Genualdi at the blue line who took it in and scored to tie the game at 5. The impossible had just happened. It was a tale of two teams and the Colonials had just erased a 4 goal deficit to come back and tie the game but they weren't done yet. The last 5 minutes of this game was one of the most exciting finishes all year. Corey DeFranco picked off a pass at the blue line late in the game and he was off on a breakaway. Originally losing it but kicking it back to his feet he came in all alone and made a nice move to was stoned by McAvoy. With 10 seconds left in the game Coach Anthony Larca of the Rangers pulled his goalie tied 5-5 with a faceoff deep in the Colonial defensive zone. When asked about this strange move late in the game Larca said this after the game, "My kids had just dropped a 4 goal lead, I was trying anything to get them back in it." The unthinkable almost happened however. The faceoff was won back to Mike Formichella and he wristed a puck up and over everyone and it coasted down the ice toward the empty net. It took a nasty turn at the circles and just missed. It was a close call but now the faceoff came back into the zone with just 4 seconds left because of the icing. Dixon, who finished off a great game, won the faceoff and took it into the corner and that was it. A game that was originally 5-1 finished in a 5-5 tie as the Colonials completed one of the most amazing comebacks these eyes have ever seen. Eric Visnovsky started the game off a little shaky but finished very strong with 34 saves.
Dixon (Perry)
Dixon (unassisted)
Postorino (Sogliuzzo)
Dixon (Fullam)
Genualdi (Daugherty)
Eric Visnovsky: 34 saves (5 goals allowed)
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