Oct. 21, 2006

Newark, NJ - The New Jersey Devils and the Highlanders have one thing in commom. They shared the ice on Saturday. The Highlanders played their home opener on the Devils practice ice.

The hope opener brought in a good crowd. Even the Highlander made an apperance at this game, and resident bagpiper Rob O'Connor got the crowd into the game.

Visiting team St.Rose (0-1) got the game started 2 minutes into the game by scoring on a power play. The power play goal was 1 of 3 in the game.

The first period was filled with agressive play. The were a total of 8 penalties called in the first. With St. Rose being called for 3 unsportsmanlike penalties.

The St. Rose player seemed to be upset at every call against them.

Two minutes into the second Captain Anthony Massari was called for hooking. This put St.Rose on a power play, which they scored on.

Five minutes, and two penalties later, the Highlanders scored. Kevin Mulligan passed the puck to Tim Cornely who put it past the St.Rose goalie. This was Tim Cornely's first goal of the season, and Kevin Mulligan's first assist. "It felt great to score," said Cornely.

During the third period the Highlanders tried their best to get as many shots on goal as they could. They were not able to score a goal though.

With 1:37 left in the first they Highlanders chose to pull goalie Steve Kaufman to get an extra skater. Unfortuinenly it did not work out, and St. Rose foward Saparco scored on the empty net.

Sunday night the Highlanders were facing Southern Connecticut State University (0-0). The first period was one of the cleanest for the Highlanders.

"We fixed the mistakes we during the St. Rose game," Captain Tommy Lucin said when asked what was different about this game. The team did not comit many penalties during this game.

The Ice Owls were a strong team spending a lot of their time in the NJIT zone.

The Highlander shut down the Ice Owls, only allowing one goal late in the first.

The Highlanders contiuned their strong defensive game deep into the second period. Even though the Ice Owls had over 25+ shots they only allowed 3 goal by the end of the second.

Goalie Joe Cestaro faced a penalty shot in the third period after an Ice Owl was pulled down on a breakaway. "I was confident during the penalty shot," Cestaro said. Cestaro looked like he knew what the shooter was going to do when he made the save. "The shooter had his head down a little too long so i decided to pocke check before he could deke or shoot," said Cestaro.

During third period the Highlander picked up their play. They had 5 power play oppurtunities. Some of those seemed like they were still playing even strenght. They did get 9 shots in the period.

For the second time this season Cestaro faced 45+ shots. When asked about it he had this to say, "Sometimes it is easier because you stay warm and stay in a groove."

(article courtesy of Piotr Machocki from the vector )