Stevens injured in season opener (with videos)

by Ryan Fay

SCHENECTADY -- Union starting goaltender Colin Stevens suffered an upper-body injury in the first period of Friday's season-opening 3-3 tie with Bowling Green at Messa Rink.

Bowling Green's Bryce Williamson barreled into Stevens at the 6:12 mark of the opening period, and subsequently received a five minute major for charging the goalie. Stevens, a Niskayuna native, was pulled from the game after getting examined by Union athletic trainer Cheryl Rockwood.

Stevens (Union)

The junior is scheduled to be re-examined Saturday morning, leaving his status for Saturday's 7:30 p.m rematch with Bowling Green up in the air.

Freshman netminder Alex Sakellaropoulos, who came to the Dutchmen from the U.S Hockey League's Chicago Steel, was summoned into his first collegiate action following Stevens' injury.

"I was nervous from the get-go," Sakellaropoulos said. "Once I stepped into the rink, I was nervous. My stomach was jittering. It was so scary out there. When I saw [Stevens] go down, I thought he would collect his thoughts and get back at it.... once Stevens headed to the bench, I guess it was my time to go."

Sakellaropoulos said the situation proved how important is to always be ready.

"You have to treat it like you're playing no matter if you're the backup or the starter," he said. "You don't know what's going to happen."

Sakellaropoulos allowed three goals on 24 shots in just under 59 minutes of action in relief of Stevens.

Senior forward Daniel Carr, who picked up a power play goal in the tie, took notice of the freshman's solid debut.

"That was a great job by Sakellaropoulos," Carr said. "He got put in a tough spot tonight with Stevens going down in the first [period]. He stepped in and made some big saves for us. It's rare to see a freshman goalie be a calming influence in net and he does that for us already. We've seen it in practice and we saw it out there today."

Third-year Union head coach Rick Bennett echoed those sentiments.

"[Sakellaropoulos] did a great job for us," Bennett said. "We're proud of the effort he put out there tonight. He gave us a chance."

OTHER FRESHMAN FIRSTS

Forward Eli Lichtenwald's first collegiate goal, a power play tally, put Union on the board at 9:52 of the first period... forward Michael Pontarelli, added to the roster after Josh Jooris signed with the Calgary Flames in late July, notched his first two collegiate assists.

POSTGAME VIDEOS









Follow @UnionHockeyBlog