Falcons Open Codfish Bowl Tournament with Setback to Host UMass Boston

Photo Credit: Dennis Woxland
Photo Credit: Dennis Woxland

BOSTON, Mass. – Both Dino Antoniadis (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) and Owen Allan (Ancaster, Ontario) netted goals for the Albertus Magnus College men's ice hockey team in today's bout against UMass Boston at the 55th Annual Codfish Bowl Tournament, but it proved to not be enough in a 9-2 road loss for the Falcons Friday afternoon.

THE BASICS
FINAL: UMass Boston 9 | Albertus Magnus 2
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (0-10-2) | UMass Boston (7-4-1)
BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Beacons got on the scoreboard first on the power play 4:57 into the first period. Nolan Redler snuck the puck through the legs of Pierce Diamond (Edmonton, Alberta) from the right side of the zone to give the home team a 1-0 advantage. Zack Bross garnered an assist on the play.

Antoniadis tied the score at 1-1 with the Falcons' opening goal of the afternoon at the start of the second period. Antoniadis' first collegiate goal was a beautiful wrister from the left side of the zone that found space by UMass Boston's keeper 47 seconds into the frame. Cameron Weitzman (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec) and Alexander Lazier (Pointe-Claire, Quebec) tallied assists on the goal. 

The Beacons answered swiftly by tallying two unanswered goals before the five-minute mark of the second period. Jack Riley scored first at the 2:15 mark, while Daniel Nachbaur netted his goal at 4:56 mark to give UMass Boston a 3-1 advantage.

Allan cut the deficit to one with his third goal of the year. The freshman forward brought the puck down the ice by himself and rifled a shot to the goalie's stick side. The puck ricocheted off the keeper and rolled to the back of the net 7:11 into the frame.

For the second time today, UMass Boston answered a Falcons' tally by going on a scoring run of its own. The Beacons ended the second period with three unanswered goals to take a 6-2 lead into the intermission. Goals by Derek Caruso, Jake Adkins and Ethan Nitkin gave the home team six different goal-scorers through two periods.

The momentum in the period shifted following a waved-off goal just after the Falcons' second score. An Albertus skater found the back of the net to knot the score at 3-all, but the officials ruled that the opposing keeper was interfered with before the puck crossed the line, which wiped out the goal. Diamond also made a fantastic stick save within the same period that kept the Falcons within one, but the Beacons', who lead the country in scoring offense with 5.42 goals per game, continued pressure proved to be too much. 

UMass Boston carried this momentum into the third period, scoring three times to secure the 9-2 tournament-opening victory. In total, the Beacons had eight different goal-scorers with Daniel Nachbaur scoring twice.

BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus - Pierce Diamond (L, 0-10-2): Shots on Goal 45 | Goals-Against 9 | Saves 36
UMass Boston - Bailey MacBurnie (W, 4-3-0): Shots on Goal 32 | Goals-Against 2 | Saves 30

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• The Beacons owned a 45-32 lead in shots in the contest.
• Albertus was whistled for just one penalty this afternoon for two minutes in the box.
• UMass Boston, on the other hand, committed five infractions for 10 minutes.
• The Beacons scored the lone power-play goal of the day in the first period.
• Allan and Charles Risk (Medicine Hat, Alberta) finished tied for the team lead with five shots each.
• Nachbaur and Ethan Nitkin also ended the game with five shots apiece.

NOTEWORTHY
• Today's bout was the Falcons' fourth multi-goal game of the season.
• The Beacons' nine goals tie a season-high by an Albertus opponent.
• Antoniadis' goal is the first of his career and his third career point.
Sebastien Laquerre (Lévis, Quebec) and Jack Hannan (Kent, Conn.) both made their collegiate debuts in today's game.
• Weitzman (4G, 2A) and Lazier (1G, 5A) are tied for the team lead this season with six points each.

UP NEXT
Albertus continues the 55th Annual Codfish Bowl Tournament tomorrow at 1 p.m. as they will face the loser of today's second contest between Fitchburg State and Wesleyan University in the consolation game.