Jacob Ceron
The ice was heated at Albany County Hockey Facility on Oct. 1, when the UAlbany Hockey Club played against rival Union College in their first game of the season.
After a shaky start from the UAlbany hockey team, after the first period of the game it was looking grim for the team after Union began leading them with a 1-to-3.
Taking on a more defensive style, they focused more on protecting their goal area rather than scoring. Once the team came out of their first recess, they began putting the pressure on Union. The team slowly began to creep up to Union’s early lead.
The tensions really got high in the second period when fights broke out, instigated by Union College’s team. The first fight was smaller and less violent than the first one, only ending in a penalty. The second fight ended much worse, with the dismissal of AJ Tarquinio for the rest of the game.
Tarquinio was unavailable to comment in detail about the interaction with Union, but was heard summing it up as them playing aggressively. There was discourse among the team about why they had a player removed while Union didn’t have the same happen to them.
However this did not stop UAlbany from bouncing back and tying the score 5-to-5. All thanks to Offense man Chris Smith (Pictured above 32) and goalie Jason Samulik who blocked 50 shots from Union, UAlbany was able to secure a steady stream of goals.
During the final half of the game, tensions were high between the two teams as they tried to settle the tie between them. Each attempt at a goal, pushing either side of the team a point closer to calling a victory, but ended with a 5-5 tie.
After the game, some players on the team commented feeling that they felt Union was a good match. Defensive player Anthony Palumbo comments moral was high among the team, it was an amazing experience to get to be in the game with all those great players.
The Hockey club is having their next game next Saturday, Oct. 15