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Ramblers come out even after big weekend
By: Adam Sabh
Updated: 01/25/2010 at 6:49 PM
The anticipation for the big weekend left butterflies in the stomachs of the Ramblers. After a long winter break the team was looking to make a fresh start of the second half of their season. Their excitement showed in the first game back against University of Texas as the Ramblers dominated for the better part of the game. However, hot heads can lead to lazy feet which is exactly what happened in the last 4 minutes of the 3rd period. The Ramblers blew a 5-2 lead letting the Texas Longhorns score the tieing goal with only 2.3 seconds left in regulation time. This sobering blow forced the Ramblers to act quick on their laxidasical efforts. In response, Michael Bangs netted the winning overtime goal only a mere :45 seconds into the period halting the Longhorns comeback tangent. This goal held the teams morale at a high as the team traveled down to Bloomington/Normal to take on the Icebirds. Epic is the only word that can describe the Ramblers' next appearance as the Icebirds were given more competition then they had anticipated. Despite past encounters between these two teams, the Ramblers came out swinging by giving their best performance of the season. Although the end result was a 5-3 loss the team had nothing to hang their heads about. A couple of bad bounces could not penetrate the Ramblers confidence leading them into the second matchup against the Icebirds. The team was charged to give another full 60 minutes of fast-paced hockey, but they simply could not deliver. Poor goaltending by the Ramblers kept the Icebirds out of reach from the second the puck was dropped. Although the Ramblers left ISU with 2 losses they knew that if they could compete at the level they had played the past 2 games at Sundays matchup, that the win was theirs. It just came to be that the Ramblers slaughtered the Texas Longhorns by playing at a pace Texas simply could not handle. David Katz lead the Ramblers' stampede with a hat-trick and a couple of assists. Solid play by goaltender Ben Archer held off the Longhorns rebuttle in the 3rd period when the Ramblers seemed to slip into another goal-scoring-orientated gameplay while forgetting about their defensive zone. Next weekend, the Ramblers have another busy schedule including a rigorous roadtrip to Southern Illinios University and an important home game against Northwestern University.
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