The melee in front of the Northern Arizona University Ice Jacks’ net in the second period summed up the 4-3 loss for the Long Beach State 49ers ice hockey team on Friday night.
With players pushing and punching each other, LBSU appeared to stuff the puck over the Ice Jacks’ goal line to tie the game 3-3 in the waning moments of the second. However, the referees waived it off despite much lobbying from 49er players, who seemed to come to life after fighting back from a 3-0 deficit.
The ‘Niners tied it in the third off a shot from Matt Kresky, who was left wide open in front of the net. The defense was concentrated on Joe Nalley and Sean Hoang, who were cycling the puck in the corner before Nalley made the centering pass.
But Ice Jack Taylor Dustin dangled the puck toward the net from the left side of the rink and backhanded the puck five-hole from the slot for the unassisted, go-ahead goal.
Moments after the strike by Dustin, the 49ers (2-7) had a chance to take the lead on a power play, but Nalley took a penalty, cancelling the man-advantage.
“We took some stupid penalties, especially on the power play a couple times and we can’t be doing that,” 49er head coach Joe Sheehy said. “It’s lazy play, reaching, little hooks, and little trips [that affected us].”
Despite Nalley’s penalty, he had a chance to tie it with one minute left in the game as he fired two shots from the slot, but couldn’t capitalize.
Arguably the reason LBSU lost the game was because of the slow start in the first period, despite having momentum from a 3-2 victory over San Jose Thursday night.
“I don’t know why we came out so flat,” Sheehy said of his team, which was outshot 41-30. “They were ready to go out when leaving the locker room and as soon as they hit the ice they were flat. [The Ice Jacks] scored a couple easy goals on us, and we had to fight back.”
NAU’s Barett Buckowich scored the third goal of the game by slapping in a rebound goal after a backhand shot from Ben Jordan.
The Ice Jacks (6-1) pushed their way to an early lead when Michael Farnham scored on a slow-gliding wrist shot. Farnham’s stick was hit while shooting, but somehow the puck managed to trickle between the legs of St. Louis.
The ‘Niners return to action tonight for another game against the Ice Jacks. Opening faceoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Glacial Gardens Ice Arena in Lakewood.