SUPERIOR, Wis. - It was evident on Friday, January 4 that both the Lions from Finlandia University and the Colonels from Curry College were coming off a lengthy break in the schedule.  The holidays caused both teams to return to game action a little on the rusty side, but in the end it was Curry who was able to find its game, as they cruised to a 3-0 win over Finlandia in the first game of the East/West College Hockey Showdown at Siinto S. Wessman Arena on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

The early going in particular was a struggle for both teams, with numerous offside and icing calls sapping the flow from the contest. 

Finlandia had the first quality scoring chance of the game when Collin Saint-Onge snuck behind the Colonel defense and went in on the breakaway, only to miss the net on the chance.  Curry returned the favor later in the period as Michael Lopez had a breakaway chance of his own, but Lion goaltender Troy Chandler turned him aside to keep the game scoreless.

Curry finally broke through in the final minute of the first period.  Brett Kaneshiro sent a pass from the left point to the right, where Shane Harrington let a shot go that was stopped, but the rebound caromed right onto the stick of Casey Brugman, and the senior forward drove the puck into the open goal to make it 1-0 with 46.7 seconds left in the period.  Brugman, obviously feeling the pressure of being goal-less at this point in the season, threw his arms and his eyes skyward after picking up his first goal of the season.

In the second period the Colonels began to assert themselves even more on the Lions, outshooting them 10-4 in the frame and adding two more goals to the total.  At 6:59 it became a 2-0 game when Brad Devereaux went in alone and fired a powerful wrist shot that beat Chandler up high for his first goal of the year.  Lopez and Dominic Puntillo assisted.

Moments later the lead went to 3-0 when Brugman scored his second of the game on the power play to make it 3-0.  Brugman found the loose puck near the goal and slid his second of the year home on an assist from Chris Mason.

From there, the game was in the capable hands of sophomore goaltender Derek Mohney.  For most of the game the Curry defense shut down the Finlandia offense, not giving them much in the way of quality scoring chances.  When there was a chance, Mohney was there to close the door.  Mohney’s rebound control was impeccable in the game, rarely giving the Lions a second scoring chance.

Late in the third period the Colonels took a pair of penalties, giving Finlandia a 4-on-3 advantage, but they weren’t able to muster any offense and the final seconds ticked off the clock, giving Curry the win and pulling them above .500 on the year (6-5-1).

Mohney finished the game with 17 saves, earning the shutout.  At the other end, Chandler made 19 saves.

The Colonels will be back in action on Saturday, January 5 when they take on the hosts from UW-Superior.  It will mark the second meeting all-time between the two schools.  The first meeting, also in Superior, came on December 30, 2006.  The Yellowjackets were victorious in that game, 3-2 in overtime.  Game time on Saturday is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. (Game Recap Courtesy of UW-Superior).