Dogs Get Second Win on the Road

This past Friday the Dogs traveled to Sacramento to take on the Sac State Hornets in their season opener. For the first time this year the Dogs got on the board first when Senior Magnus Toftgard  fired a beautiful wrist shot into the top shelf.

The story of the night would be the Bulldogs Penalty Kill. The Dogs couldn’t stay out of the penalty box and soon found themselves trailing 2-1 after two power play goals by the Hornets.

The game remained 2-1 as the Dogs continued to kill off penalties throughout most of the second period until Senior Michael Gandy found a hole between the goalies legs to tie the score 2-2.

The Hornets scored again early in the third period to take the lead. Fresno State continued to work hard killing off several 5-3 penalties before answering back with three quick goals of their own. Captain Senior Derek Miller got things started as he picked up a loose puck at the lower right faceoff circle and buried it in the back of the open net. The second goal came from a rebound that squirted out to Senior Nikolai Morse two steps inside the blue line and found its way through the traffic and into the back of the net.  The eventual game winning goal came from Freshman Phillip Matson who forced the Hornets defenseman to cough up the puck at the marks. Matson was able to beat the goalie all alone in front of the net. With the Dogs leading 5-3, the Hornets continued to play strong and forced the Dogs to turn it over as Sacramento State would score a shorthanded goal to get the game to within one. The Dogs spent the last minute of the game killing off yet another Sacramento State power play. Behind the solid goaltending of Junior Joe Ricupero and support from the defense, the Dogs were able to hold on for a 5-4 victory.

The Dogs face Sacramento State again this Saturday at home at the Savemart Center. Tickets are only $10 and include admission to the Fresno Falcons game afterwards.

News and Notes: Junior Joe Ricupero was the recipient of this week’s Monkey Award... Fresno State had 17 minor penalties in the game... Junior Forward Jacob Winans left the game early in the third period with an upper body injury. He would return to the ice during the last two minutes of the game.