The History Of Comics; No Joking Matter
When a person says, “That was comical!” what comes to mind? Well, this phrase most likely came from when comics were all funny. Comics are a large part of popular culture here in America, but comics, in the form we know them today, are fairly new. Perhaps even more ironic is the fact that comics as we know them today did not originate here in America. However, the top comic publishers in the world today are all in America and it was America that made them popular.
Comics’ oldest form is political cartoons, which have been appearing in newspapers ever since newspapers have been around. The first true newspaper was published in Venice, Italy in 1556, by Notizie Scritte. Political cartoons have long been used to make fun of laws or politicians that the authors oppose, or have been used to get a point across to the audience in a humorous way. The first political cartoon published in America was in 1747 by Benjamin Franklin, stating “Live free, or die”. Political cartoons are still used, but have been used less frequently in recent years, to express ideas or beliefs about certain areas of politics.
Comic’s development and change came slowly, and over more than a century. The first actual comic to be published was “The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck”, by a Swedish man named Rudolphe Topffer, in 1837. Five years later, his comic was published in America in 1842, with great success and response. In 1859, Wilhelm Busch, a German poet and artist, introduced the idea of comics in newspapers, and drew the first one; in 1865, Busch published “Max and Moritz”, a famous and popular comic book. Finally, in 1895, “The Yellow Kid” was published by Richard Outcault, and is considered the first true comic book. Comics before “The Yellow Kid” published in America were published in the New York newspaper, The World. These comics that were published in newspapers were called “funnies” at the time, and the terms “comics”, or “comic strips”, didn’t come into common use in the U.S. until around the year 1900.
No more progress was made in the “development” of the American comic book from there, until, in 1929, Dell Publishing published “The Funnies”, and it was sixteen pages long. In 1933, four years later, Eastern Color Printing published Funnies On Parade”. However, this was just a collection of older comics that had been printed in newspapers, and it was only eight pages. Most comic books of that time were reprints, so this was not uncommon. The following year, Eastern Color Printing published was most historians believe to be the first true American comic book. The title was “Famous Funnies”, and it was printed in 1934. The American comic book as we know it today was finally invented.
The comic book didn’t become really popular until Marvel and D.C. came into the picture a few years later. Today, Marvel and D.C. have managed to stay the top two comic publishers in the world. D.C. started to form when Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson’s National Allied Publishing published New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine #1, in 1935. The second title was “New Comics”, and it changed eventually to Adventure comics, and lasted until 1983, and ran through 503 issues. The third title, and also Wheeler-Nicholson’s last, was Detective Comics #1, in 1936. This series would introduce Batman in issue #27; this series was so popular, it was eventually used for the companies initials (D.C.). The reason that Detective Comics #1 was Wheeler-Nicholson’s final title was due to his financial troubles. He was in debt to Harry Denenfield, who operated in the Magazine Company Independent News, and also published pulp magazines, which were cheap fiction magazines that were 7 inches wide and 10 inches tall, and were published from 1896 to the 1950’s. Due to this debt, Nicholson had no choice except to take Donenfield as a partner, in order to publish Detective Comics #1. Detective Comics, Inc., was then formed, with Nicholson, and Liebowitz (Donenfield’s accountant) being owners. However, when cash-flow problems continued, Nicholson was forced out, and returned to National Allied Publishing. Soon after though, D.C. bought out National Allied Publishing at a bankruptcy auction. In 1939 Detective Comics produced Superman, and D.C. took off, and is still a powerhouse today.
D.C.’s biggest rival is Marvel. Marvel’s first name was Timely Publications, and was founded by Martin Goodman in 1939. Its first comic it published was Marvel Comics #1 in October of 1939, and it featured Sub-Mariner and the Human Torch, and it sold 900,000 copies. Joe Simon became the first editor and teamed up with Jack Kirby. Goodman then hired his wife’s cousin, Stanley Lieber, whom was using the pen name Stan Lee, as a general assistant in 1939. Lee later became the interim editor after Simon left, and remained as editor for 28 years, except for three years due to World War II military service. During the 1950’s, Marvel’s name became Atlas Comics, and Goodman dropped superhero titles, since they lost popularity, and turned to genres such as horror, sci-fi, and western. In the mid-50’s, Goodman tried to revive Sub-Mariner, Captain America, and the Human Torch, but with little success. However, in the late-50’s, and early-60’s, Goodman followed D.C.’s success of reviving superheroes, and beginning in 1961 with the creation of the Fantastic Four, Lee started adding new ones. Thor and Spider-Man debuted in 1962, and the Hulk, X-Men, Avengers, and Iron Man started in 1963, to start building the Marvel powerhouse. After this, the companies’ name changed to Marvel and it is still the top comic publisher in the world.
The 3rd largest comic publisher in the world, but not as well known, is Darkhorse Comics. This company began in 1986, by Mike Richardson, in Oregon. Richardson started a small comic store, and started writing and publishing his own comics, and after initial financial problems, his business actual became profitable. Darkhorse comics are based on such characters as Star Wars characters, and Avatar: The Last Airbender, and others. Darkhorse also has movies based on their comics, such as R.I.P.D. Although this company started small and is not that well known even today, it has become highly successful.
In more recent years, comics and comic publishers have diversified, and a lot of comic characters have movies of their own; this shows that comics and their characters are not just strictly comics anymore. D.C. was the first to diversify to movies consistently, as they had made a Superman series and a Batman series, along with a Supergirl movie, before Marvel had even made five movies, including the very first superhero movie ever, the 1944 Captain America.
Comics have become an important part of American culture over time, and popular culture, as comics and their characters have not only been portrayed in countless comics for well over 100 years, but also have been portrayed in more than fifty movies. Comics have taken time to change into what we know them today, and they are still changing. More and more new comic publishers continue to arise, and this rise of companies has happened ever since Marvel achieved success in the early 1960’s. The only thing that hasn’t changed is that Marvel and DC have remained the top two publishers in the world for over fifty years. But who knows; the future may have a few more changes for comic books and their publishers.
I delivered this speech at the 4-H public-speaking event on Februrary 22nd, 2014.
The Very First Superman Comic
After UConn Struggles In Game One, Huskies Rebound For Big Win
In a series where at least one win was necessary, the Huskies split a series with the Holy Cross Crusaders. In game one, the Huskies defense was very good as usual, but their offense struggled. Holy Cross scored late in the first to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. In the second, the Huskies almost tied the game when Jacob Poe backhanded a rebound through the Holy Cross goaltender’s legs, but it hit the post, not the net. Holy Cross, however, would score again to take a 2-0 lead into to he third. Only 40 seconds into the third, UConn got on the board, making it 2-1. Tyler Cooke forced a turnover at center ice, a passed to Trevor Gerling, who then passed to Brant Harris on a slight breakaway, who then shot the puck top shelf, his 11th of the season. UConn had some more close chances, but couldn’t tie it, and the Crusaders added an empty-netter for the 3-1 win. Grogan stopped 31 shots in the loss.
The next night, UConn finished the series at Holy Cross. The Huskies scored only 7:44 in when Trevor Gerling shot the puck on a breakaway, but just caught the edge of Ginn’s pad, but Cody Sharib cleaned up the rebound for a 1-0 lead. The Huskies then made it 2-0, when Jordan Sims snapped a shot on Ginn that was blocked, but Ferris shot the rebound home. Sims got the assist for his 100th point of his career. They had 18 shots at the end of the first, compared to 21 total shots the previous night. The Huskies then made it 3-0 45 seconds in to the second on the power-play; Latta passed the puck to Jacob Poe who blasted home a slap-shot. The Huskies continued the offense when Brent Norris snapped home a rebound for a 4-0 lead after two periods. In the third, UConn finished their scoring when Joey Ferris tipped home a Kyle Huson shot for a 5-0 win. Robby Nichols stopped 38 shots for his second shutout of the season and of his young career.
Despite a tough-luck loss on Friday, the Huskies proved it was just bad luck when they won 5-0. Thanks to the win, UConn stayed in a tie with Air Force for third, and stayed one point ahead of Robert Morris. In a race for the top four spots, there are five teams, so one team will not make it into the top four and I hope that that team isn’t UConn. I hope UConn sweeps Army next weekend to gain some breathing-room in the standings, and I hope they stay in the top four so they can get a bye of the first round!
Harris Goal
Gerling Celebrates With Harris!
Hockey Celebrates!
After A Shutout Win, Let That Cowbell Ring!
In what was another do-or-die weekend for UConn hockey, the Huskies played Bentley. UConn was in third and only one point behind Bentley in second, so they needed at least one win, just to stay close. On Friday, UConn hosted Bentley, and my parents, sister and I went to the game. The crowd was pretty large, only 500 under capacity, and the band was there. Only 1:28 into the game, UConn incredibly took the 1-0 lead. Trevor Gerling came around the back of the net, and passed the puck to Jordan Sims, who fired a shot on net, but it was blocked, but UConn crashed the net, and the puck finally fell in, and Sims got the goal. There was some confusion in the crowd and on the ice as to whether it was a goal, and even the goal light never went on, but the horn sounded and I was ringing my cowbell! The Huskies tried to find the back of the net again but couldn’t despite having most of the chances including back-to-back 2-on-1’s. One UConn 2-on-1, Patrick Kirtland intercepted the puck at center ice, and then side stepped around a defender to come in on Komm, but the pass to his Husky teammate just missed. However, the Huskies went up 2-0 before the end of the period. On the power-play, Billy Latta came speeding into the zone, went to the side of the net, and dropped a pass to Brant Harris, who buried it into the wide-open net with 7.6 seconds left! I was elated; I jumped up and rang the cowbell until the end of the period.
In the first intermission, I realized that a group of students had come, and they were making some noise and getting the crowd going. When the players came out, my sister and I went down to cheer them on, and then I booed the other team. In the second, the Huskies almost played even better. Only about five minutes in, the Huskies went up 3-0! Billy Latta fed the pass to Brent Norris, who went down low, and fired the pass over the shoulder of Brandon Komm. The crowd rose to their feet, and I couldn’t believe it; I was jumping up and down, before I remembered to ring the cowbell. UConn’s offensive show ended with the goal, but Robby Nichols’ goaltending wonders were about to begin. It started when Bentley stole the puck from UConn, and fired a shot from close range, but Nichols made a point-blank save! In the third, Nichols continued doing great. On a wrap-around attempt, Nichols saved the puck with the edge of his skate. Then, with the goalie pulled for Bentley, Bentley had a 6-on-3! However, Nichols helped kill this huge power-play off. The highlight save was whenBentley faked a slap-shot, but passed it to a Bentley player right next to the net, but Nichols jumped across the net and blocked it! The UConn crowd was cheering like the Huskies had scored! To no surprise, Nichols led the way to a 3-0 win over Bentley, his first career shutout, to stay undefeated.
The next game unfortunately was different. Bentley must have solved Nichols, and they scored three first period goals! Matt Grogan was put in, and shutout Bentley, but it was too late. Only 1:59 into the third, Trevor Gerling scored on a wrap-around to make it 3-1, but Bentley scored an empty-net goal for the 4-1 win, to reclaim second. Air Force swept their series, so UConn fell into a tie for third with Air Force but was still a point ahead of Robert Morris.
On Tuesday, UConn played their final non-confrence tilt of the year, against future Hockey East opponent, and nationally ranked #9 Providence. The Huskies fell behind early after the puck was tipped by Grogan. However, UConn would tie the game before the end of the period. The Huskies fired a shot on goal, and Ryan Tyson rushed to the rebound and put it home. Then, just over a minute in to the second, UConn stunned Providence by taking the 2-1 lead, after Patrick Kirtland blasted home a slap-shot, and the Huskies took the lead into the third! The Huskies then completely stunned Providence by taking a 3-1 lead with less then eight minutes left! Billy Latta picked off the puck at the blue-line, and came in on a breakaway, and scored. Providence would score with 29 seconds left, but Grogan came up big and UConn incredibly beat #9 Providence 3-2! It was UConn’s first ever victory over a top-10 team. Grogan and the UConn defense did great, as Providence outshot UConn, 60-26, but Grogan stopped 58 shots to break the UConn division 1 record for single-game record. The UConn defense also blocked 19 shots on the night. Tomorrow and Saturday, UConn plays Holy Cross in a weekend set. I hope they do well and sweep the series because this is a crucial series in the playoff race, with only six games left in the regular season. With Robert Morris’ loss to Niagara tonight, all UConn needs is a win to stay in the top four, but a sweep will probably bring them up in the standings. As I said, I hope UConn plays well again, this weekend, against Holy Cross!
Sims Gives UConn The Lead!
UConn 2, Bentley Zip!
Norris Makes It 3-0
UConn Celebrates
Tyson Ties The Game
Kirtland Gives UConn The Lead!
Latta Scores Gamewinner Vs. #9 Providence!!!
25 Games Down, 9 Games To Go…
UConn’s First Home Goal Of The Season
Bouchard Ties The game!
In UConn’s last season in the AHA, before they move to Hockey East and the XL Center, the head coach changed from Marshall and Berard to Mike Cavanaugh. It was very disappointing that they changed coaches, but it happened. UConn started their season at No. 18 Minnesota State, but was swept in the series, with 2-1 and 6-1 losses. They then went home to play their home opener against Union. After falling behind 2-0 after one period, they rallied to tie the game up in the second period. The Huskies got on the board with a break-away goal by Billy Latta, and he went to the backhand to beat the goalie to the right. The huskies then tied the game when Tyler Bouchard fired home the rebound off a wrap-around try, and the game end in a 2-2 draw. The next game was the Huskies AHA Opener versus Army. They scored two goals early in the first period, only 16 seconds apart, to go up 2-0 after one period. In the second, Army would get on the board, but Trevor Gerling would respond to give UConn a 3-1 lead. Army would close the gap to 3-2 with another goal, but a power-play goal by Billy Latta would seal the 4-2 win. This was Mike Cavanaugh’s first win as head coach.
The next day, UConn played Sacred Heart in non-confrence action. UConn scored early when Patrick Kirtland stole the puck in front of the net and fired it home; UConn made it 2-0 with power-play goal not too long after, and the first period ended with the Huskies leading 2-1. The Huksies then went up 3-1 in the second with a goal by Latta. After the Pioneer goalie saved a Husky shot, the rebound came to Latta who shot the puck over the goalie’s pad, and into the net. Sacred Heart responded to make it 3-2, but Latta scored again, this time by means of a slap-shot to seal the 4-2 win. The next game was up against Holy Cross. After a scoreless first period, the Huskies took a 2-1 lead out of the second period, with goals from Joey Ferris and Joonas Kuunas. This however, didn’t stop Holy Cross from taking a 3-2 lead early in the third. However, the Hukies rallied and escaped the night with a 4-3 win. The Huskies tied the game when Cody Sharib collected his own rebound and scored. The Huskies then took the lead when Shawn Pauly collected the rebound and put it in the wide open net, after the Holy Cross goalie had been knocked out of the way.
The next game, I went to with my dad and friend Alex, to see UConn play Bentley. As luck would have it, the Huskies played terrible, and were shutout 3-0. The Huskies hit the post 5 times but were unable to score in the disappointing loss. The Huksies suffered another defeat the very next game, this time at Boston University, losing 4-1. After this game the Huskies stopped their brief losing streak, exploding for an 8-1 win over AIC! After the first period ended tied at 1 apiece, the Huskies scored four second-period goals, and finished with three in the third. The next weekend the Huskies once again suffered a loss, this time losing to Canisius 3-1. In the second game of the weekend set though, UConn rallied form two third period deficits, to force the 2-2 draw. After the Huskies tied the game at one early in the third, Canisius went right back on top. Then with under two minutes to go, Brant Harris scored the extra-attacker goal to seal the tie.
The next weekend was the final weekend before the break, and UConn was playing Niagara. In game one, UConn scored an early first period goal to go up 1-0 after one period. The next period would end seeing the Huskies up 2-1, and Trevor Gerling would make it 3-1 with an early third period goal. The Purple Eagles would make it interesting, with a shorthanded goal with less than two minutes to go, but UConn would hang on for the win. In game two, Niagara would put up more of a fight. Niagara would score half-way through the first, and would hang on for the 1-0 lead after one period. Then, just under two minutes into the next period, UConn would tie the game; Shawn Pauly skated into the Niagara zone, got around two Purple Eagle players, and shot the puck into the top corner of the net. In the third, the Huskies scored the game-winner. The puck was passed to Jacob Poe on the blue line who fired a shot through traffic that would go in, for the 2-1 win. UConn ended the first half of the season at 6-5-1, and at 5-2-1 in the AHA.
The UConn Hockey Classic was very disappointingly in Hartford at the XL Center this year, as my dad and I always go to these games, and I was looking forward to this final classic at home. Except, we didn’t go because it was in Hartford. UMass faced off against Quinnipiac in the first game, and surprisingly battled to a 2-2 draw, but Quinnipiac advanced in the shootout. The next game was UConn versus Sacred Heart. After a scoreless first period, UConn embarrassingly allowed three second period goals, and were handed a 3-0 loss! The next day, UConn played UMass for the consolation game. Robby Nichols, UConn’s freshman goalie, made his third start of the year. After two scoreless periods, Ryan Tyson scored an early third period goal for the 1-0 lead. Soon after, UMass would tie the game though, breaking up Nichols’ shutout hopes. However, with 5:04 remaining, UMass was called for a penalty. UConn took advantage of the power-play, and Latta blasted home a goal. UConn won 2-1, to take third place, in front of a record crowd.
The next weekend, UConn welcomed the new year with a series against RIT. After a scoreless first period, Trevor Gerling gave UConn the 1-0 lead after two periods with a 2-on-1 goal. UConn then added insurance when Harris centered the puck to Shawn Pauly who fired the puck home for a 2-0 lead, and UConn held on for the 2-1 win. The next day, UConn did even better. Early in the first, Ryan Segalla scored his first career goal to give UConn a 1-0 lead; Brant Harris then made it 2-0 when he backhanded home a rebound. The Huskies then made it 3-0 in the second when Brett Skibba scored his first collegiate goal. Later on, Harris scored his second of the night on a 4-on-4, putting a rebound in the wide open net. In the third UConn kept piling it on, making it 5-0 with Harris netting a Hat Trick off a rebound he put home. UConn would net one more goal, with Trevor Gerling scoring on a 2-on-1, to seal the 6-2 win. Only five days later, the Huskies hosted Robert Morris. The Huskies took a 1-0 lead when Billy Latta backhanded home a rebound in front. Only 49 seconds later, Brant Harris tipped home a Trevor Gerling shot to go up 2-0. Harris would score one more time before the period wa sout for the 3-0 lead. The second period was almost scoreless until Billy Latta scored a goal from a weird angle with only seconds left to go up 4-0. In the third, Billy Latta net a hat trick of his own, scoring apower-play goal on a slap-shot, putting UConn up 5-0; the Huskies won 5-1. For the second night in a row, a Husky player had a hat trick. The next night, I went to the game with my dad and my sister. For the second time all season, we saw UConn play terribly, as they lost 6-1. The only goal they scored was when Kyle Huson scored on a rebound, to make it 2-1 in the first. We were all very disappointed.
UConn then played a series against first-place Mercyhurst, in a series they couldn’t afford to lose. In game one, the Huskies and Lakers were tied at one, until Mercyhurst took the lead with just under two minutes to go in the period. However, in the third, freshman Brent Norris score his second of the game, to force a 2-2 draw, that was big for UConn. In game two, Mercyhurst painted UConn into the corner, building a 3-0 lead early into the second. The Huskies replaced Matt Grogan with Robby Nichols. After this, UConn unbelievably battled all the way back to tie the game at 3-3, with Brant Harris collecting two assists to amass 100 points. The following weekend, UConn played AIC. In the first game at AIC, UConn fell behind early 1-0, but would score three straight goals, and would hang on for the 3-2 win. The next night UConn hosted AIC. Once again UConn fell behind 1-0. Uconn responded again, as with under two minutes left in the period, Jordan Sims put home a Kyle Huson rebound to tie it. With under a minute left in the period, Billy Latta skated into the AIC zone, fed a pass across the zone to Jacob Poe, who buried the puck in the top left corner for a 2-1 lead. Thanks to Matt Grogan, Uconn would make the lead last and would win by this score, to extend their unbeaten streak to four games and would sweep the series.
The next weekend UConn played a crucial series at Air Force. The Huskies needed at least one win stay ahead of Air Force in the standings. In game one, Air Force took the 1-0 lead after one period. In the second, the Huskies chased the Falcon goalie from the game when they scored three goals in under three minutes for a 3-1 lead. Air Force would cut the deficit to 3-2 before the end of the period. The Huskies would go back up 4-2, only for Air Force to keep battling, making it 4-3. However, the Huskies would seal the win with an empty net goal. Robby Nichols got his fourth win in his fifth start. The next game, I watched live on the computer. After one period, Air Force led 2-0. The Huskies had their fair share of chances in the second, and despite playing well, they couldn’t score. These chances were hitting the post, and getting a five minute power-play. In the third, the Huskies almost got on the board, but a goal they scored was discounted as the puck crossed the goal line only seconds after the whistle was blown. With under eight minutes to go in the game, the Huskies finally broke through. After a face-off win, Poe blasted a shot from the blue-line, and it was tipped in by Ryan Tyson. However, Air Force sealed the win with a power-play goal with under three minutes to go, suffering a 3-1 loss.
The Huskies are doing great so far, and are in third going into the match-up with Bentley. If the Huskies stay in the top four, they can host the AHA Quarterfinals! I hope UConn continues to do as awseome as they have been doing, and I hope they sweep Bentley!
Latta Power Play Goal
Latta Scores!
Team Celebration
Koonas’s 1st Career Goal
Ferris Vs. Holy Cross
Sharib Ties The Game!
Pauly Scores Gamewinner Vs. Holy Cross!
Goalllll!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pauly Vs. Canisius
Tyson’s First Goal Of The Year
Harris Ties The Game Vs. Canisius!
Pauly Goal
Poe Scores Gamewinner Vs. Niagara!
Harris Scores Vs. RIT!
Harris Hat Trick Vs. RIT
Sims Ties The Game Vs. AIC!
Poe Gamewinner Vs. AIC
Celebration!
An Inspirational Team For An Ispirational Season
The 2012-2013 season was the best season by far in a long time for UConn hockey, but also a very trying season as well. only five games into the season, UConn hadn’t won a single game, but their head coach, Bruce Marshall, who had been so for 25 seasons, took a medical leave of absence. A few months later, Marshall resigned as head coach, due to health problems. He finished his time as head coach with 332 wins. David Berard became the interim head coach, and what he did with UConn Hockey was amazing. He gave UConn the kind of season that they could have had every year previous to that.
Bruce Marshall was the head coach of UConn for the first six games, and I thought UConn was going to be terrible. My family went to the exhibition game, against York of Canada and UConn stunk. Their stamina was very low, and once again, their passing was not very good. They did tie, 3-3, but gave up the tying goal with 0.8 seconds to go! In their season opener, they played equally bad. Just a year after they had been No. 3 in the nation on the power play, they scored only one power-play goal on eight chances in a 4-1 loss at UMass. In their next game, the played at Holy Cross, a team they had a season sweep of last year. However, once again UConn’s offense struggled in a 2-1 heartbreaking loss. The next game was their home opener, against No. 8 Union. As all my blog-readers know, UConn played a great game in an unexpected 2-2 tie. I thought that they had finally found their rhythm, but guess again. Their next games were at Niagara, and they got shutout in both games 3-0, and 5-0! This pushed their record 0-4-1, and I thought that they had the worst offense and team!
However, that week, Bruce Marshall took a medical leave of absence, and that is when UConn changed, since David Berard became the head coach. The very next game, UConn exploded for five goals in a row, en route to a 5-3 to victory over Sacred Heart, who had the worst defense in the nation. The next game, to prove their change in playing, the beat Hockey East foe Merrimack, 3-1! They came into the third period tied at 1-1, but scored early on off a turn-over, and added an empty-netter to seal the feel-good win. However, the very next game, they met league-foe Bentley, with whom they had had bad luck against in recent years. Despite this, the Huskies battled Bentley to a 0-0 tie going into the final period, before scoring a goal to take a 1-0 lead. Bentley then responded by scoring three goals for a 3-1 win.
The next weekend, UConn was going to be challenged to see how good of a team they really were, since they were going up against defending conference champions, Air Force. For all the readers of my blog that read UConn Hockey Weekend Recap: UConn vs. Air Force, you know that UConn incredibly swept Air Force with 2-1, and 3-2 OT victories. The 3-2 overtime victory occurred at the XL Center in Hartford, where a record crowd of 2000 people attended the game.
The next weekend, however, UConn played Canisius. Canisus’s goaltender was Tony Capianco, who was the hottest goalie in the league at that time. UConn out shot Canisus by a large margin in both games, but was swept by Canisus with 3-0, and 3-1 losses, due to Capianco’s great goal tending games, to drop UConn’s record to 4-7-1. Once again, as all my blog-readers that read my post UConn Vs. Army; Huskies Can’t Afford To Lose know that UConn battled Army to a 2-2 tie, to finish the first half of the year 4-7-2, and 9th in the league.
After Christmas break, UConn Hockey experienced a change. Matt Grogan became the starting goalie, and led UConn to success. Grogan helped right away, leading UConn to take second place in the UConn Hockey Classic, and a sweep of Penn State, but Bartus won game two of the Penn State series. UConn’s offense also stepped up, in taking a 7-2 win over AIC, in the first round of the hockey classic, but fell short for Grogan, 3-1 against Minnesota State in the Championship game. UConn rebounded though with a 4-3 and 4-1 wins over Penn State, to prove their team improvement.
The next weekend, UConn took on their league foe, the then ranked no.18 Robert Morris. The Huskies held a disadvantage, in never having beaten RMU, and RMU being ranked in the top-20. Despite this, the Huskies took a 2-0 lead after two periods, on goals from Harris and Gerling. Despite this lead, RMU brought it within one, but Ambrosie scored to bring the Bruins lead to 3-1. A short-handed goal by Cody Wydo cut the lead to 3-2, but UConn hung on for a 3-2 win over a ranked team, and a league foe. The next game was also against No.18 RMU. After the first period ended, the Huskies led 2-1, on goals from Sims and Latta, his first. RMU took the 3-2 lead, with Bartus in net, but Sims scored again to tie the game going into the final period. Late in the third period though, RMU scored the heart breaker, to take a 4-3 win over UConn and Bartus. Even so, the Huskies did great against the 18th best team in the country.
The next two games were against Mercyhurst, at home. The Huskies surprisingly jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Trevor Gerling, and Tyler Bouchard. The Huskies, early in the second, jumped out to a 4-0 lead on a goal from Sharib and one again from Bouchard, who tipped home a Jacob Poe shot. But late in the second, with 19 seconds left to be exact, Mercyhurst got on the board, to make it 4-1 after two periods. Despite this big lead, Mercyhurst made it close, opening the period with two goals to close the gap to one. A few minutes later, Brant Harris scored on a centering pass from Sean Ambrosie to make it a 5-3 game. With two minutes to go in the game, the Lakers scored again, to make it 5-4, but Grogan and the Huskies shut the door for the 5-4 victory. The next night was very different. The Lakers scored 2 power-play goals, and the Huskies took thirteen penalties, in a tough 5-0 loss for Bartus and UConn since all the bounces penalty-wise went Mercyhurst’s way. The only fun part to watch (I watched this game live on the computer) was that Brant Harris was in an NHL-type of fight with a Laker.
The Huskies hoped to play better Hockey, since their next game was at No.2 Quinnipiac. In the first, the Bobcats took a 1-0 lead, but the Huskies were matching their stride. In the second, the Huskies hard and gritty play payed off. The Huskies did everything right on defense, and then Billy Latta’s breakaway goal tied the game going into the final period. Latta, from a pass from Sims, Latta took the puck on a breakaway on Adam Hartzell, deked to the backhand, and scored. In the third, Grogan was on his game, stopping two breakaways. On one breakout, he made a toe-save, but on another, he laid flat on his belly, stretched his pad to the other post, to make the great stop. However, the Huskies’ great effort for an upset of the second-best team in the country fell short, when the Bobcats scored a heart breaker, with 4 minutes left in the game on a bad rebound, but still could boast such a great effort against a ranked team.
Three days later, the Huskies played the AIC Yellow Jackets on their home ice. At the end of one, the game was surprisingly tied at 0. In the second, the Huskies broke the tie, with a Billy Latta goal, to go up 1-0, but AIC would tie it up before the end of two. In the third, early on Tom Janoz blasted the game winner from the blue line. A rebound came all the way to the blue line, for Janoz to blast it home. Harris added insurance with another goal, shooting the puck off the Jackets goalie for a 3-1 lead. The Huskies would win by this score, in front of an almost sellout crowd. The next night, the Huskies played at AIC, and I watched this game on the computer. After another scoreless first period, the Huskies fell behind after two periods, 1-0, and were also being outshot. In the third period, the Huskies started playing very well, and eventually tied the game with 5 minutes to go. Jacob Poe shot the puck from the blue line that was tipped through the legs of Ben Meisner by Cody Sharib. Despite more great chances, the final score ended 1-1, as the Huskies took three of four points against AIC.
The next weekend UConn played at RIT. In the first game, the Huskies used a balancing scoring attack to build a big lead, as three different scorers, Evan Carrie, Trevor Gerling, and Tyler Cooke, his first career goal, to build a 3-0 lead in the third period. Grogan’s shutout hopes were destroyed when RIT scored a power-play goal with seven minutes left, but the Huskies still won, 3-1, and won at RIT for the first time since 2007! However, the next game was very different. After a scoreless first, RIT scored four second period goals against Bartus. Sims got one back, in the third, but RIT still won, 7-1.
The next week, the Huskies were scheduled to play Bentley. However, a blizzard cancelled these two games, and moved them to Sunday and Monday, away, then home. In this game at Bentley, the Huskies jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but the Falcons would make it 2-1 later on. However, Brant Harris then added two power-play goals to give UConn the surprising 4-1 win. The next day was at UConn. Due to the short notice not many people showed up to the game. The huskies scored first on a Billy Latta Power-Play goal, and Kyle Huson scored his second of his career, and second of the series. Huson received a pass, to the wide open side of the goal and beat Brandon Komm for a 2-0 lead. Later on in the first, a Husky player fired a shot that bounced wide of the net, hit the boards, and bounced out in front of the other side of the net. Brad Smith got the rebound a shot the puck wide, but it a Falcons skate and deflected in for a 3-0 lead! Still in first Patrick Kirtland scored on a rebound to end the first with UConn having a huge 4-0 lead. Kirtland picked up the rebound and flung the puck top corner on Komm. The big win continued in the second, as Shawn Pauly scored on the breakout, and Evan Carrie continued his surprising season with a goal as well for a 6-0 lead at the end of two. In the third, the Huskies snuck another goal through the pads of the Falcon’s goalie, followed by Joey Ferris’ first career goal; Ferris received a pass and shot the puck into the side of the net for an 8-0 lead. The Huskies went on for the 9-0 win, and Grogan got his first shutout of his career.
The next game at Holy Cross was a disaster. The Crusaders scored early on as they took the puck away from Grogan behind the net, and scored. Sims deflected home a Brant Harris shot to tie the game, but Holy Cross would go on for the 4-1 victory. After that game things really got roaring. The Huskies played at Holy Cross and won 4-1, reversing the sore and winning; something most people thought they couldn’t do. The next weekend series was at Army. In the first game, the first period was wild. The Huskies led after one period by a score of 3-2. The game was low-scoring after that, and UConn won 4-3, as Brant Harris and Shawn Pauly scored two each. In the next game, UConn had a 2-0 lead after one period. However, Army came back to tie the game only for the Huskies to make it 3-2. The Black Knights than responded with tying the game at 3-3, but UConn still had a 4-3 lead going into the final period. This time, the Huskies added on, making it 5-3, and an empty-netter sealed a sweep, and a 6-3 win. Ambrosie had three points, and Grogan still had only one league loss on the season.
The next series was the final series- against Sacred Heart. The first game was the Huskies senior night, where Alex Gerke, Garret Bartus, Evan Carrie, Tom Janoz, and Sean Ambrosie were honored in a pregame ceremony. I went to this game with my friend Alex and his father and sister Ariel, and my dad and cousin. By the way, SHU was the worst team in the country. In the first though, it looked like UConn was the worst team in the country, which were far from, as SHU built a 2-0 lead, one goal on a turnover 59 seconds in, and on a centering pass. Towards the end of the period, the Huskies made it 2-1, on a Brant Harris goal to go into the second down a goal. In the second, the Huskies finally tied it, as Skyler Smutek shot the puck on goal, and the puck deflected in off a pioneer player, to tie the game at 2-2, and the more than sellout crowd went berserk! Only a few minutes later, after some great Husky chances, Cody Sharib received a great pass and shot the puck over the pad of the SHU goalie for a 3-2 lead, and this was the score at the end of two. UConn added to this lead when Sean Ambrosie stuffed home a puck on the front doorstep to make it 4-2. But later on, SHU made it 4-3, and then they scored a shorthanded goal, with under five minutes left, during a 5 minute major! No one scored in overtime, so it was a very disappointing tie. The next day was the regular season finale, and UConn needed a win to finish in fourth and skip the first round of the AHA playoffs. After a scoreless first, UConn scored with seconds left in period 2, to make 1-0. In the third, the Huskies scored three more goals, en route to a 4-0 win, a bye of the AHA First Round, and a 4th place finish, all in a season where the head coach was replaced and many changes had to be made, as UConn finished the regular season with a 17-13-4 record. So, UConn, Niagara, Holy Cross and Air Force sat out the first round (the top four).
In the AHA First Round, Robert Morris hosted Sacred Heart, Mercyhurst hosted Army, Canisius hosted Bentley, and RIT hosted AIC. Robert Morris defeated Sacred Heart 4-1 in game 1, and then eliminated them with a 6-1 win. Mercyhurst defeated Army narrowly, 3-1, then eliminated them 5-2. Canisius blanked Bentley 4-0, and then came from behind for a 2-1 win, and RIT narrowly beat AIC 2-1, and then squashed them 7-1. In the quarterfinals, RMU played UConn, Niagara hosted RIT, Air Force hosted Canisius, and Holy Cross hosted Mercyhurst.
I went to game one of UConn’s series with Robert Morris with my dad. In the first UConn was RMU like white on rice, leading big time in shots but couldn’t score a goal, and we both agreed that this was a very different UConn team, as they were playing pro-like hockey, the best we’ve ever seen them play, as Coach Berard obviously did something good. However, Robert Morris still got on the board first on a rebound to make it a 1-0 game. Only a few minutes later though, UConn earned a power-play, and scored on a neat passing set-up, that was shoved in by Brant Harris to tie the game at the end of one period. The Huskies would then score two goals 50 seconds apart, to make it 3-1, at the end of two periods. Grogan made a great glove save at the buzzer to keep the game this score. Evan Carrie would score an empty-netter to seal a 4-1 win for UConn, and a 1-0 series lead. The next game, after falling behind 1-0 after one period, the Huskies scored a goal b Trevor Gerling, and then Shawn Pauly and Joey Ferris scored 16 seconds apart for the 3-1 lead. After RMU scored to make it 3-2 in the third, Gerling net his second of the night on a shot into the top right corner. RMU would make 4-3, but Grogan would make some big saves, and Harris cleared the puck in the final 5 seconds for a 4-3 win and a series sweep, eliminating RMU and propelling the Huskies to the semifinals.
In the other quarterfinal series, Niagara played RIT. In the first game, Niagara won 3-2, and then eliminated the tigers with a 2-1 overtime win. Air Force hosted Canisius, and lost to the griffins 4-3, and then by the same score in overtime the next night, to get eliminated. Holy Cross then hosted Mercyhurst, and HC lost game 1 3-2, but won by the same score the next game, only to be eliminated by the Lakers with a 1-0 loss. This sent Niagara to play Canisius, and UConn to play Mercyhurst in the semifinals. Canisus somehow beat Niagara, who very rarely lost a game in the league this season and was ranked in the nation, 5-3, and then the Huskies played the Lakers. Gerling scored on a shot that just squeezed through the Laker’s goalie’s pads, to make it 1-0. In the second, period the Lakers took the lead on two goals, and then added two more in the third, one an empty-netter, to sadly eliminate the Huskies.
Despite UConn’s bad-luck loss in the semifinals to end their great season, which two of the Laker’s goals were tip-ins; they accomplished so much during a season full of turmoil. Dave Berard replaced Bruce Marshall as head coach, as Berard, led UConn into the semifinals, a top four finish in the League, and gave UConn 19 wins, 42 points, and their first winning season since 2000, when they were league champions. Unfortunately, Berard was replaced by Mike Cavanagh, former assistant coach at BC, but now UConn has had the kind of season they needed to be respected, and to move forward to be a great hockey team. Below are some of the greatest goals, memories, and moments of UConn’s 2012-2013 memorable season.
Gerling Ties The Playoff Game
Harris give UConn the Lead Over No. 8 Union
Team Celebration After Quarter-Final Series Win Over RMU
Smutek Ties the Game Vs. SHU
Gerke Vs. RMU
Ferris Vs. RMU Playoffs
Ferris Playoff Goal
Sounder (Spoiler ALERT)
The most recent book I read was Sounder. It was written by William H. Armstrong, in 1969. It is the story about a family of sharecropper farmers, which takes place probably around the early 1900’s, or late 1800’s. They live in a run-down cabin, working in the fields, and doing other chores for “the people in big houses”, as they refer to them in the book. The boy in the book, and “the boy” he is called throughout the book, has a dog named Sounder, whom he takes hunting with his father, to catch vermin to sell for fur. However, one terrible day, the sheriff of the town which the family lives in, arrests his father on charge of stealing ham. As the sheriff takes his father away, Sounder chases after them, and gets struck down by a shotgun. The boy only finds part of the dog’s torn ear. A few weeks later, the dog returns, with a missing leg and eye to the boy’s grief. Meanwhile, his father has been sentenced to a year of hard labor. The boy searches all over, but can’t find his dad. Eventually, the boy’s father came home, but he had gotten injured, due to a dynamite blast in a prison camp. One night when he was hunting, his father died. Two weeks later Sounder died, due to his sadness of his master dying. Since his father had come home, the boy had been going to school, and with his new knowledge, he knew that his father was out of his pain, and was in eternal peace, and he felt good in a way.
This book was very enjoyable and intriguing, and I would probably rate the book four stars, and William Armstrong won a Newberry Medal for this book for a reason. William Armstrong wrote 16 other books besides Sounder. He was born in 1911, and died in 1999, at the age of 87. There is a very valuable lesson to learn from this book. The lesson to learn is that we should really count our blessings and put everything in perspective. For example, the things most of us take for granted like a roof over our head, freedom, and good food and clothes, is not something everybody has. Even something such as family and a good family is something that not all people have. Whenever we find ourselves complaining about something, we need to take into perspective whether it is worth complaining about. For example, we are sometimes forgetful and complain about what food we have to eat, not remembering that some families don’t have anything to eat. And when we read a book, we don’t think that some people can’t even read, because they don’t have the opportunity. Even though I have known that I am truly blessed with many blessings, this wonderful book by William Armstrong has taught me to always count my blessings.
The Survivor (Spoiler ALERT)
The Survivor, a book written by Robb White, is a fictional story about World War II. The main character of the book is Adam Land, a litenaut in the navy who is also a pilot, but embarks on a dangerous mission with the marines.
At the beginning of the book, Adam is a carefree navy pilot, who constantly disobeys orders, in order to have more fun. All this changes though, when “the man in charge” orders him confined to his quarters. Only a few days later though, he is sent to get a lot of gear and weaponry from a nearby station and that very night, he is shipped out to a marine base on Pearl Harbor, whose inhabitants are going an on mission to a Japanese-held Island. Adam still clings onto the hope that there had been some mistake, since he had never been in a fight and didn’t even know how to shoot a gun. However, after Adam befriends a marine named Jason, they are all put on a submarine to make the long voyage to their destination, all 92 marines, and Adam. On the long terrible voyage, Adam becomes friends with two more marines, who ware known as Guns and the Rebel. At the end of the journey, as the boat starts to surface to let the troops off at the island, they are sunk in 600 feet of water when they hit a mine. The boat starts to fill with water, and all seems lost until Adam comes up with an idea.
Adam remembered learning from his schooling that no matter how deep you are, if you continuously let air out of your mouth, slowly exhaling, and let your head back, you will not drown and will surface. Despite this hope that they could survive, only 4 marines, including Guns, the Rebel, and Jason, decided to risk it. About half-way up, the other marine panicked and his lung burst, since he held his breath. The other four men made it though, and all they had to do was get to shore, but there were monstrous waves blocking their way. Once again Adam came up with a plan to stay on top of the wave and curl yourself into a ball on the way down. Using this tactic, they all got ashore, alive.
Right away Japanese discovered them, but the marines managed to kill the three sentries which had spied them. Since they had to kill the sentries, other Japanese were now aware of their presence, so, sick, exhausted, wounded and hunted, the marines were near death. After awhile, the Japanese gave up the search, so the marines could at least catch a nap and be a little safer. One day, their chance of escape came. An admiral in the Japanese army had come, so a parade was being held in his honor, but the admiral had come in a plane! They then put their plan into action. All four men dressed in old Japanese ceremonial masks they had found, and walked in to the middle of the parade. The parade stopped when Adam motioned it to, and all four men climbed on the tank. Once inside the marines killed the soldiers inside, and Jason took control of the tank. Jason drove the tank right to the plane, and while moving Adam jumped into the plane. However, what they didn’t know was that a pilot was in the plane. And when he saw Adam, he shot him, straight in the shoulder. Once the tank was parked the three marines quickly got into the plane, and they killed the pilot who was ready to kill Adam. Mortally wounded, Adam told Jason how to fly the plane, so they could get back to Pearl Harbor. Sadly, Guns stayed behind to work the tank to distract the Japanese so his comrades could escape. As soon as Adam and his friends made it to Pearl Harbor, he died, saddening the rebel, but most of all Jason, but Adam died saving his friends, and he died a marine.
Robb White did an excellent job with this book. Written in 1964, this book gives an excellent picture of what World War II was like. Not pleasant, like we all know. White teaches us a valuable lesson; sometimes bravery is needed for survival and to do what’s right. Bravery sometimes doesn’t mean risking your life for someone else’s but sometimes bravery can be standing up to someone who is doing something wrong, even if it makes you lose friends or makes people dislike you. White also teaches us that the biggest acts of bravery usually come from people who are afraid and scared but brave by doing the right thing anyways. White also teaches an actual lesson about surviving underwater. I never k knew that if you constantly let out small breaths, you would survive under great depths of water. It has been awhile since I learned something like that from a book. The Survivor was a great book, and one I will remember for the lessons it taught and for being an action-packed, fun-to-read book!
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolken, is the prelude to The Lord of the Rings. It is the story of a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, who lives in the land of Middle Earth. He does not like to go on adventures, but is persuaded by a band of dwarfs and a wizard named Gandalf, to go on an adventure. They go to the lonely mountain to fight the dragon Smaug, in order to win the dwarves back their gold and homeland. Along the way, he must face danger such as Bilbo has never known before.
There are many hidden messages in the Hobbit, many of them Christian messages with relationships to characters in the Bible, or similar as to those in the Bible. There are so many Christian themes in the book, and lessons to learn, that it is very hard to remember them all.
A very prominent Christian theme in the book is the relationship of Bible characters to main characters in the book. One example is Gandalf. He is like Jesus or God the Father, leading the group of dwarves and Bilbo, either presently with them, or helping them behind the scenes. He is a wizard who uses magic in his actions and in his wise words. He is always doing what is good for the dwarves and the hobbit even if they don’t like it. He always has a reason for everything, even if you, the dwarves and Bilbo, or anyone else in the book doesn’t understand it. He is just like Jesus in the sense that he was always there when the dwarves needed help or to be saved. Gandalf could also be viewed as Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt, and towards the Promised Land. In this case of course, he is leading the dwarves back to their homeland by the lonely Mountain, and freeing them from the state they were in of being dispersed all over Middle Earth.
Another good example is Gollum. He has been separated from the outside world for so long that he has become less than man, so he is the example of a lost soul. Just like a lost soul or a person who has lost contact with God, and doesn’t live accordingly like a child of God would. Gollum has lost contact with the outside world, so he has very few human qualities acting more like an animal. He uses the deep, dark cave that he lives in to shelter himself from the world above, just as a lost soul shelters himself willingly from God.
A comparison that I found interesting is a good look at gold. Gold is almost like the devil. It tempts people, just like it did to Thorirn in the book. Greed filled him, even though he did eventually turn back to the good side. Gold can corrupt people by filling people with greed, even if they are a good person. The devil does the same thing by tricking, corrupting, and using people just like gold or money can. This is truly an interesting afterthought.
Thorirn demonstrates free will. Thorirn is the leader of Bilbo and the band of dwarves that is going to fight the dragon. Thorirn is brave, heroic, and true. However, when Throrin gets into the Lonely Mountain, and finds the ancient treasure room of his grandfather, he is astonished but not overwhelmed by the power of the gold. When Elves and the Lake men try to claim their rightful fair, Thorirn refuses to give them any. He is overcome with greed, and the power of all that gold comes over him. After a huge battle against a common enemy, he is mortally wounded, he repents on his deathbed, and becomes what he was, a heroic warrior. This is just like free will; even if you have sinned, you can always come back to God.
Then of course there is the evil dragon Smaug. He is most relative to being like the devil. He is very crafty, and can very easily trick you if you are not careful. He is very strong, and very confident in himself. Even if you are aware that he might try and trick you, he might still get you. Sneaky is the one word that describes him. You can almost never catch him unawares.
Another comparison to the Bible is the Dwarves journey to the Lonely Mountain, which is just like Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt from slavery, to the Promised Land, their homeland. The dwarfs’ homeland is the mountain. Just like Moses and the Israelites had to pass through the Red Sea, Bilbo and the dwarfs had to pass through Mirkwood, which was almost more dangerous than crossing the Red Sea. Smaug is the people of Jericho that were in the Promised Land that needed to be defeated to live there. Similarly, just like the dwarfs had to defeat Smaug to live in the mountain. The goblins, just like the Egyptians pursued the Israelites, pursued the dwarfs, elves, and lake men who were at the mountain, but the dwarfs and their allies defeated them to win back the mountain, just like the Israelites had to defeat the Egyptians to escape Egypt.
A good lesson to learn in this book is one expressed by Gandalf. He states that the best way to fight evil is with small acts of kindness. This works because every time you do something right or good, you strengthen your guardian angel. But every time you do something bad, it weakens your guardian angel. In other words, we need to not only do what is right because it is right, but we need to do what’s right to help our guardian angel out.
J.R.R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolken wrote a great book series in the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings; it will always be one of my top books. He was a very Christian person, and a devout Roman Catholic. He wrote a good book series; correction, a great book series, being highly commemorated and remembered for these great works of Literature.
Snow Blowing Fun
On Saturday morning, I woke up to see two feet of snow on the ground ( and the extra six inches floating through the air). It was taller then my pond, and had filled up the chicken run ( which has a roof over it), to prove the extent of the wind’s power of the previous night. It was all fun and good to look at but when time came to start to shovel the snow away…. Luckily, my dad has a snow blower, and it made the task at a little bit easier. I got the job of shoveling the front and back door, cleaning off all four cars, shoveling my Grandparents doorstep, chipping away icicles, shoveling out the chicken’s and shed door, cleaning out in front of shed no. 2 and chipping away at the ice in the chicken’s water! However, things went fairly smoothly, as we have a backhoe, and we were able to clear off the driveway, and the snow blower made paths to the chicken’s coop and shed, and from the back door, to the shed and front door. After lunch, we were pretty much okay, so I started to play with my sister. The paths were awesome for hiding in, and we were also able to find a packed down patch of snow that was quite tall, and pretended it was a pirate ship.
On Sunday, the day was even better. We played on our pirate ship again, and we had a battle to see who could stay on the pirate ship, without falling off (I’ll admit that I lost badly, since my sister could stand up and I couldn’t because I would fall through the snow)! Then we played leap-frog on the “ship”, but at the end of the pirate ship, I leaped over my sister and missed the ledge and fell into the tunnel, and took off the cliff of the ship (Note: The cliff: A huge ball of snow and ice, and it fell on me)! I then had to, at my sister’s urging, put the cliff back on the ship. The rest of our time out side was spent watching my dad as he went on the roof, that he was shoveling snow off of, and I explored a mountain range of snow that had been created due to the snow-plowing. Then we went to skating, (Upcoming post about this) and thus ended a great (but snowy) weekend (a little too snowy)!
The Snow Blower
Fire On Command!
Super-Maggie!
Maggie to The Rescue!
A Little Help Here!
I’m Really Tired.
I’m ready To Go In Now!
Here I Come!
Maggie On the Move
Wave To The Camera!
Ready To Fight!
Oops!
Cool Kids
UConn Vs. Penn State; A First Meeting
Pauly’s (No. 8) First Career Goal
On December 4th and 5th, 2013, UConn hosted Penn State, for their first ever meeting. It was also Penn State’s first year in Division I. In the first game, Matt Grogan was UConn’s starting goaltender. Only 28 seconds into the two team’s first meeting, Jordan Sims recorded his fourth of the year, from a pass from Sean Ambroisie from behind the net. Just over 5:30 later, Penn State tied the game, with a power-play goal that was tipped in off a slap-shot. Over two minutes into the second, Penn State had a shot bounce off a UConn defensemen and into the net. Brant Harris shot the puck by the boards and off the goalie and in the net to tie the game. Just over one minute later, Shawn Pauly, bombed home a juicy rebound off an Evan Carrie shot to give UConn a 3-2 lead. With six minutes remaining in the period, Penn State scored to tie it up at 3-3, to end the second period, with Penn State leading 27-17 in shots. In the third, only six minutes in, Patrick Kirtland, came around the side of the net, and fired a shot over the glove of the Penn State netminder, into the top right corner to give UConn the lead, with his second goal of the year. Matt Grogan made some more saves, as UConn held on for the 4-3 victory.
On Saturday, UConn looked for the sweep of Penn State. Since I couldn’t go to the game, I watched the game online. Only 13 seconds into the game, Penn State scored . The Nittnay Lions won the center ice faceoff, passed the puck into the zone along the boards, and the reciever backhanded the puck to the player who shot the puck past Garrett Bartus for a 2-on-1 goal. But just over a minute later, UConn tied the game on Shawn Pauly’s second goal in as many games and of his career. Pauly skated up the side on a 1-on-1, and passed to a Husky, whose shot went right passed a UConn stick, but went right to Pauly’s who put it home to tie the game. Later in the period, UConn went on the power-play. When Penn State tried to clear the zone, a Husky stopped the puck at the blue line, and passed to Ambrosie, who walked in all alone on the goalie, and scored on a backhand try, to make it 2-1 at the end of one. In the second about half way through, Tom Janoz sent a pass behind the net to Ambrosie, who spun a shot on the PSU netminder, that bounced to the other side to Sharib, who backhanded a shot into the top of the net, to give UConn a 3-1 lead, going into the third period. In the Third period, Penn State started fighting back, but couldn’t find the back of the net on Bartus, but they did hit the post a few times. Later in the game, Penn State pulled the goalie, and UConn flicked the puck out of the zone to Evan Carrie, who skated on the wide open net, and hit the crossbar! The puck bounced into the corner, and Carrie recovered to pass the puck to Trevor Gerling, who put it home to seal UConn’s 4-1 sweep of Penn State. UConn improved to 7-8-2 on the season, and Bartus was named AHA goalie of the week, and Shawn Pauly was named AHA rookie of the week. UConn did great against Penn State!
UConn Sweeps Penn State