Gophers Never Surrender Lead Over Yellow Jackets
Averett, Boncaro Tally Three Goals Apiece in 11-6 Triumph
March 18, 2009
ASHLAND, Va. – The 3-0 lead that Goucher enjoyed over
Ranolph-Macon after one period today appeared to be in jeopardy
when the Gophers were socked with a three-minute illegal stick
penalty to begin the second quarter – and things got even
dicier when a cross-checking infraction put them two men down.
The Yellow Jackets took advantage of the opportunity they were
presented by scoring a pair of extra-man goals, one of which was
negated by a man-down goal by Brian Hoge (Crofton,
Md./Arundel), leaving head coach Kyle Hannan's squad ahead
4-2 by the time the sides were even. Randolph-Macon closed to
within 4-3 on an unassisted goal by Patrick Egan with 10:36
remaining in the second quarter.
But that would be as close as the game would get. After that, the
Gophers (5-2) stuck three more goals in the second quarter to
expand their lead to 7-3 and went on to defeat Randolph-Macon,
11-6, handing the Yellow Jackets' their first loss of the
season.
Even after an extra-man goal by Rory Averett (Ivyland,
Pa./Council Rock North) in the opening minute of the third
period expanded Goucher's advantage to 8-3, the Yellow Jackets
(3-1) had one more run left in them. They trailed 8-5 through three
periods and inched even closer on Egan's unassisted goal :43 into
the fourth quarter before Averett restored the Gophers' lead to
four goals with back-to-back goals, the first with 8:15 remaining
and the second 2:13 later.
With his three-goal performance today, Averett raised his season
total to 17 goals, second-highest on the team. The freshman
attackman has tallied at least two goals in all seven games so far
in 2009.
Kyle Boncaro (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva) also
contributed three goals to the victory, plus he had three assists.
The freshman attackman now has 18 goals and 15 assists for a
team-leading total of 33 points.
The Gophers, who now possess a 5-4 edge in the all-time series
between the two teams, finished with a 32-24 advantage in shots.