Georgetown Hockey

Georgetown 1, Duke 0.

On Friday, February 8, 2008, at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex, the
Georgetown Hoya Hockey team faced-off against the Blue Devils of Duke
University. Coming into the game, the Blue Devils were riding high in
first place, one and a half games ahead of Georgetown, the University of
Virginia, and NC State.

The Hoyas and their fans, however, were fired up and ready for action.
Three busloads of spirited students arrived shortly before gametime to
support their Hoyas on Senior Night. The starting line-up for Georgetown
featured all five of the outstanding seniors on the Hoyas' roster: Rick
Cella (Long Valley, NY), Eric Estey (Toronto, Canada), Steve Russell
(Andover, MA), and co-captains Conor Hickton (Pittsburgh, PA) and Dave
Glynn (Stoughton, MA).

The game was an intensive end-to-end defensive struggle, interrupted only
by seven two-minute penalties. Each team fought hard and refused to
concede anything to the other. Each team was limited to 20 shots on goal
for the entire game, well below their averages. Incredibly, both teams
went 11 minutes without a shot on goal in the second period. Every loose
puck was pursued with a vengeance; every rush on goal was met with fierce
resistance; and every attempt to create a scoring opportunity was highly
contested.

The Georgetown defense was led by seniors Eric Estey and Rick Cella, along
with outstanding play from Brendan Surma (Jr-Pittsburgh, PA), Charlie Walsh
(Soph-Cheshire, CT), Ryan Murphy (Jr-Clifton Park, NJ), and Charlie Beller
(Fr-Chappaqua, NY). Hoya centers Dave Glynn, Hugh Manahan (Jr-Skillman,
NJ), and Joe Horgan (Soph-Lansdale, PA), provided strong backchecking
support, along with forwards Conor Hickton, Steve Russell, Peter Black
(Jr-Bethesda, MD), Dan Lechner (Soph-N. Potomac, MD), Justin McNamara
(Fr-Wrentham, MA), Andrew Dorin (Soph-Roslyn, NY), Will Peterson
(Jr-Wayzata, MN), and Cody Ling (Soph-Chatham, MA). Greg Graham was
impenetrable in goal, stopping all 20 shots that the Blue Devils fired at
him.

With 9:37 remaining in the final period, Georgetown broke the ice by
mounting a strong rush on goal from the line of Peter Black, Dan Lechner,
and Hugh Manahan. The game-winning goal was scored by Dan Lechner on a
quick rebound shot, assisted by Peter Black and Hugh Manahan. It was the
only goal of the game, but enough to seal a hard-fought victory over Duke.