Amherst Edges Taconic at the Club
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Ethan Mooney scored a pair of goals Wednesday to lead the Amherst hockey team to a 3-2 win over Taconic at the Boys and Girls Club.
The Thunder played from behind most of the night after Mooney scored in the third minute of the game.
And it was a night when Taconic just did not seem to bring its “A” game in a bid to stay over .500 this winter.
“Just managing the puck – stick handling, catching passes, making passes – they did not have it tonight,” Taconic coach Matt Risley said. “Basically, you know, they outskated us. They won the 50/50 pucks, and you’re not going to win a game when you don’t win the 50/50 pucks.
“They just have better skill than that,” Risley said of his Taconic team. “They’re a better team than that. They just came out flat and couldn’t get it going. When they started to get it going, passes were off, stick handling was off and shots weren’t hitting the net.”
Christian Barry did hit the net with 3 minutes, 54 seconds left in the first period, putting back a rebound of Cody Soper’s shot on an odd man rush to tie the game, 1-1.
And Taconic ended the first period on a high note, picking up a power play with no time left on the clock.
But Amherst killed the first man-up opportunity of the game to start the second period and went on to hold the Thunder 0-for-4 on the man advantage.
And just 1:12 after the penalty expired, Sawyer Ferro scored to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead.
They stretched that lead in the second minute of the third period when Mooney scored his second of the game on a breakaway to make it 3-1.
With 4:48 left to play, Sam Gyurjan’s slapshot from the right point deflected off an Amherst defender and past Hurricane keeper Spencer McDonald (19 saves).
Taconic ended up pulling Hunter Shepardson (22 saves) from the net with 35 seconds left and an offensive zone faceoff, but it could not find a way to get the equalizer.
The Thunder (3-3-2) saw a two-game win streak snapped.
But there was one bright spot in the loss. Taconic’s four unsuccessful power plays were the only man-up opportunities of the night.
“We stayed out of the box, and they kept their composure,” Risley said. “That was a good sign right there. Heck, at the end of the day, with the way they played, it was still only a one-goal game.
“They know they can play better. I know they can play better. It’s just a question of putting it all together.”