Caught in a Storm of misfortune ("Guilderville" @ LaSalle, 2/15/20)

It was Senior Night at Conway Arena, and LaSalle was hoping to use the occasion to reverse what has been the worst stretch of bad luck in Tim Flanigan's two decades-plus as head coach.

The "Guilderville" Storm had other ideas.

After LaSalle seniors Spencer Carpenter, D. J. Pauley, & Mike Baker were honored in a short pre-game ceremony, defense was the order of the night, at least through the first period. Sophmore Caleb Ellis got the start in goal for the Cadets, hoping to lead them back to the promised land.

After a scoreless first period, the Storm broke out on top in the second, as Alex Bzdell popped a power play goal past Ellis, and the visitors took a 1-0 lead into the second intermission.

In the third, with Pauley serving a game misconduct penalty, Cameron Gagnon whistled one past Ellis to put the game away. Liam Spollen added an empty net goal on the final play of the game, and LaSalle's misery was extended for another night, the losing streak now up to 13, with the Storm winning, 3-0.

However, there is no rest for the Storm, as they will go across town to the RPI Field House Sunday for a season-ending matinee vs. the Capital District Jets. LaSalle will have a couple of days of practice before they close the regular season at home on Wednesday vs. Adirondack.
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Other stuff: Perhaps the only team in the 518 worse than LaSalle would be RPI's women's hockey team, which has now lost 31 in a row, falling to Dartmouth, 4-1, on Senior Day. RPI's men's basketball team moved a step closer to the Liberty League regular season title in beating RIT.

Alumni watch: Virginia Commonwealth dropped an 11 inning heartbreaker to Charlotte, 5-4. Brett Young, Danny Watson, & Carter Knapek made their season debuts. Knapek took the loss, giving up the winning run in the 11th, but not before Watson had held the 49ers at bay over a couple of innings of work. Young had a pinch hit double and scored in the top of the 11th.

Pittsburgh played two games in the ACC-Big 10 challenge. In the first game, Troy High grad Hunter Levesque went 3-4 with an RBI and 2 runs scored, as the Panthers downed Maryland, 8-5. However, in a twilight game, Michigan State collected a receipt from yesterday, routing Pittsburgh, 11-5, in 5 innings. Levesque went 0-2 with a walk in the game.