Pitt club hockey off to perfect start and keeps improving

After opening its season with a 10-6 pounding of rival West Virginia, the men’s club ice… After opening its season with a 10-6 pounding of rival West Virginia, the men’s club ice hockey team did not appear to have much room for improvement. However, after impressive victories this past weekend, head coach Tom Rieck said he saw some serious improvements in the Panthers from their first performance.

“The guys seemed to get better with each game so far. We played better Friday than we did last weekend, and we played better Sunday than we did Friday. As we get more and more experience, the better I think we are going to be,” Rieck said.

With a victory over NC State on Friday and one at John Carroll University on Sunday, the Panthers extended their perfect record to 3-0 this season.

Pitt 7, NC State 5

The Panthers got off to a fast start in their second home game of the season by soaring out to an early lead on junior Mike King’s shorthanded goal just 7 minutes into the game.

“We knew we had to jump out on them early to set the tone. They had just gotten off of a long bus ride, and it seemed like they didn’t have a chance to get their legs under them. We felt a strong first period would put us in a good position for the rest of the night,” Rieck said.

The Panthers continued to play well through the first and second periods and took a 4-1 lead into the third period.

The same thing that nearly killed them in their season opener came back to haunt the Panthers in their second game as well. The Panthers have had problems closing out wins in the third period.

After stopping 25 of the first 26 shots he faced, goalie Chris Garman was beat four times in the third period. Luckily, the Panthers seemed to snuff out every opportunity NC State had at a comeback by matching them goal-for-goal in the third.

“We have been struggling at stopping teams in the third period. That is really the only complaint I have with our first two performances. Once we learn to close teams out instead of letting them back into the game, we should be in good shape,” Rieck stated.

The Panthers held on to win the game 7-5. Senior captain Craig Halitsky continued to lead with his exceptional play as he figured in on all but two of Pitt’s goals. He finished the night with 2 goals and 3 assists. Mike Dziura lit the lamp three times en route to his first hat trick of the season.

Pitt 5, John Carroll 3

It was a day of firsts for the Panthers — their first game on the road, and their first time trailing in a contest.

John Carroll struck first with an early goal, but as the game went on, Pitt began to control the tempo and took command of the game.

“We started off slowly, but soon the guys settled down and we started playing our game. We played really well, and I think it was our best game of the season so far,” Rieck said.

Five different Panthers recorded goals in the contest as Pitt played its most complete game of the season and defeated the Blue Streaks 5-3.

Next weekend the Panthers will travel to Roanoke, Va., to take on Liberty University for two games.