In case there were any Hobey Baker Award voters in the Bradley Center on Thursday, Darren Haydar put on a show.<\/p>\n
The New Hampshire forward scored a goal and assisted on two others, and the Wildcats scored four goals in the third period to defeat Colorado College 6-2 in the first round of the Bank One Badger Hockey Showdown.<\/p>\n
Haydar scored a third-period goal that helped cement the victory for the Wildcats, who will play Brown in the championship game at 8:05 p.m. Central on Friday. A few minutes after Lanny Gare scored on the power play to give UNH a 3-2 lead, Haydar’s stellar individual effort pushed the lead to two.<\/p>\n
The senior won the puck in a battle behind the net, weaved his way out in front and banked the puck into the net off the pads of CC goaltender Jeff Sanger (27 saves).<\/p>\n
“He’s done that before,” UNH coach Dick Umile said. “I know what he’s doing on that. He’s played it off a goalie’s pad, skate, back. The kid’s in complete control of what he’s doing in one-on-one.<\/p>\n
“There’s no doubt in my mind he’s an all-American out East. He’s one of the best players I’ve ever coached at UNH. I’m not saying he’s better than Jason Krog or Mark Mowers, but one-on-one, he’s one of the most clever hockey players I’ve ever coached.”<\/p>\n
The Wildcats (12-3-2) scored three of their goals on odd-man rushes. Sanger was left to fend for himself for much of the third period, when the Tigers (9-7-1) tried to press things on offense.<\/p>\n
Needless to say, it backfired.<\/p>\n
“We took ridiculous chances on our (defensive) corps, which we never do,” CC coach Scott Owens said. “We give them chances and they score.”<\/p>\n
Colin Stuart scored his third goal in two games to stake CC to a 1-0 lead in the first period. After Sean Collins equalized on a power play nine seconds into the second, Peter Sejna gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead with a bullet of a wrist shot from the slot that beat UNH goaltender Matt Carney (39 saves).<\/p>\n
But the game turned on Justin Aikins’ second goal of the season, one that brought UNH into a 2-2 tie at the 13-minute mark of the second period.<\/p>\n
David Busch stole the puck from CC forward Tyler Liebel in the neutral zone, creating a 2-on-1 rush. Busch fed Aikins for a redirection past Sanger.<\/p>\n
It was all downhill from there for the Tigers. The scoring touch that looked promising early in the game disappeared.<\/p>\n
“This is a very typical game for us,” Owens said. “We played pretty well, we generated a fair amount of opportunities and shots, but they don’t go in the net. We just don’t have a lot of finish.”<\/p>\n
CC, which entered the game with the nation’s best penalty kill, allowed two power-play goals for the first time this season. The Tigers have given up five power-play goals in their last five games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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