MORRISVILLE, NC. – The Virginia Tech Hokies (10-11-1) came into Friday’s game against ACCHL rival North Carolina State with one goal in mind: To win. Unfortunately, sixty minutes was not enough for the Hokies as they fell to the Icepack 3-2.
On a night that celebrated Breast Cancer Awareness, NC State held its “Pink Out” game wearing new, pink uniforms inspired by the cause. The first period saw little action within the first 15 minutes, as the only piece of information written in the score sheet was a Daniel Gelman penalty. Seconds after Gelman got out, NC State capitalized with a goal from Scott Daniel. The Icepack were able to catch the Hokies off guard trying to change over from their penalty kill unit when Daniel received a pass and buried it past Hokies goaltender Ian Kee for the first goal of the game.
The Hokies would come out for the second period a new team than what was seen during the first 20 minutes. A rejuvenated Tech squad was able to capitalize on a power play as Freshman Evan Dutil slung in his 7th goal of the season to even the score at one. Later, after serving a minor penalty, Daniel Gelman was able to shoot out of the box, receiving a great feed from linemate Rocco Salvato, and scored on a breakaway goal to give the Hokies the lead over the Icepack. The lead was short-lived as NC State’s Jack Strong knotted things up with less than two minutes left in the second period.
The final 20 minutes of action saw the Hokies go on the power play five minutes in, yet, ended briefly due to a penalized call on Junior Kevin McAfee. NC State would use their power play to their advantage with the game-winning goal from Zack Robinson. The Hokies were unable to generate any offense past the Gelman’s goal in the second, and in the last few minutes of the game struggled to get the puck out of their zone, forcing Ian Kee to remain in his crease.
The Hokies will have their turn at home tomorrow night, January 27, when they once again take on the North Carolina Icepack. Puck drop is slated for 6:30 P.M. EST at the Lancerlot Sports Complex, and you can watch the game on the Virginia Tech Hockey Network on YouTube. Tickets to the game are $5 ($2 with VT ID) and can be purchased at the doors of the arena.
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