Lincoln hockey loses season opener

By Tom Perkins
Nov. 23, 2009    ·    2:31 a.m.

With their bench already short due to illnesses and injuries, the last thing Lincoln hockey needed was a major injury in their season-opening match up with perennial power Hudsonville.

But that’s just what happened when senior defenseman Ricky Fite went down with a separated shoulder, and the Railsplitters gave up a 4-2 third period lead in the 7-4 loss.

“We just ran out of healthy bodies,” Ferguson said. “We outplayed them, but we were out of gas in the third period. It just wasn’t a good third period.”

Further handicapping the Splitters were their penalties. A team playing shorthanded doesn’t need to be on the penalty kill, and six of Hudsonville’s seven goals came on power play or four-on-four situations.

“When we’re five-on-five nobody is scoring on us,” Ferguson said. “Not Hudsonville, and not anyone we played in the scrimmages.”

Jarrett Pfeiffer netted two goals, and Drew Harper and Ryan Elkins each added one for Lincoln (0-1).

Pfeiffer and Harper, along with David Skeans, comprised a top line that rotated with forward Blaze Keider on defense.

After Fite went down, the Splitters kept a forward on defense on the first line and Ferguson was pleased with their effort.

“Our top line just carried the play all night,” Ferguson said.

Lincoln travels to Ann Arbor for a tournament next weekend in which they will face a second test against Troy at the Ice Cube at 4 p.m. on Friday.

Ferguson said he is largely pleased with his team’s performance in the opener and isn’t focusing on anything in particular at this week’s practices, but simply wants his team to heal.

“We just need to get healthy, that’s literally what it comes down to,” Ferguson said. “For two periods when we saw what we can do.”