Plague Takes Time To Settle Into Its Groove

Kenyon Falls 6-1 to the Plague

And he's off: The Plague sharpens its skills during practice. (photo by Alyssa Tomasi)

Any disease has an onset time before it takes effect and Oberlin's Plague is no different. The Oberlin ice hockey team beat Kenyon 6-1 on Dec. 2, but not before taking a 6-1 loss to Denison early in the season on Nov. 17. The Plague's record is now 1-1.

Denison came to visit the Plague at home, but not even Obies banging on the glass would deter Denison from their sought after victory. The Plague had only been practicing for two weeks and their inexperience showed in their first contest.

Denison came out on the attack, scoring three goals within five minutes in the first period. After that, the Plague recovered a little and were able to hold off the opposition better.

"We needed the first period to collect ourselves and start playing like the Plague," senior Mark Kramer said. "We hadn't really gelled as a team."

Two more weeks of practice was enough for the Plague to get things under control. Their Dec. 2 home game against Kenyon was theirs from the beginning. By the end of the first period they were up 2-0.

In the second period, junior Brian Wesolowski got a two minute penalty, and Kenyon capitalized on the resulting power play for their only goal of the game. However, two minutes later Wesolowskig retaliated, scoring a goal of his own, bringing the Oberlin lead back up to two. Later in the period Wesolowskig got a five minute penalty for fighting. To the great disappointment of the fans the fight occurred behind the far goal. The loss did not bother the Plague too much and they scored another goal before the end of the period for a comfortable 4-1 lead at the second intermission.

The third period saw lots of action but few results. There were the usual body checks and slamming into the boards which was enough to satisfy the mob of spectators. About halfway through the period, the Plague scored yet another goal. They also had two more penalties that followed, but luckily, Kenyon was not able to capitalize with a one man advantage.

The last couple of minutes saw a barrage of shots at the Kenyon goal to awe the crowd. With three minutes left, Kenyon's goalkeeper barely prevented another Oberlin score with a spectacular glove save, but the Plague would have the last word. With less than a minute to play a popped shot found its way over the Kenyon goalie and into the back of the net.

Senior Evan Kelly finished the game with the year's first hat-trick. The defense also had an excellent game. Sophomore goalie John Breskey and defenders Nicholas deMaison and first-year Sarah Benjamin all played exceptionally well.

"We played better together as a team," senior James Kenlar said.

The Plague did have one major advantage. They had many more players. Kenyon only had about four subs and had to keep line changes to a minimum. The Plague team, on the other hand, is 25 players deep.

"[Last year] was a little rough," Kramer said. "I think we are on the up-swing this season."

Included in those numbers are some very strong defensive players and a standout goalie. These surplus players come as a relief to the sparse rosters that the Plague has had recently.

"It keeps our legs fresh," Kenlar said.

The Plague will face Case Western today on the road. Their last home game of the season is Dec. 9 at 10 p.m. against Baldwin Wallace. It will be Baldwin Wallace's first game and the Plague hopes to capitalize on their inexperience.