UNC club ice hockey routs ECU in 9-1 victory

The North Carolina club ice hockey team (4-0) defeated the East Carolina Pirates (1-3), 9-1, in a non-divisional home matchup at the Orange County SportsPlex on Saturday evening.

The Tar Heels swept the Pirates in both meetings last year, defeating ECU 6-0 in early October and 6-2 in late November. Additionally, before the opening puck drop, UNC football's junior wide receiver Devontez 'Tez' Walker was celebrated as the night's honorary captain.

The Tar Heels had the first significant scoring opportunity, when junior forward Matt Grady was awarded a penalty shot off an early ECU foul. After taking the puck from mid ice, Grady spoiled his chance by trying to cut across the Pirate keeper, placing the puck out of his own reach and squandering the opportunity.

Eventually, UNC was able to break away from ECU's physical play, drawing first blood on the back of junior forward Michael Vaglia’s one-on-one with ECU goalkeeper Jackson Shulmistra. After crossing up the last Pirate defenseman, Vaglia shook Shulmistra as well, netting the Tar Heels’ first goal with 2:50 left in the period.

However, East Carolina wasted no time responding, as forward Jackson Sylvester knifed through North Carolina's defense and finishing behind the stick of UNC goalie Lucas Brown — just 22 seconds after the opening goal.

The final chance of the period allowed the Tar Heels to take a 2-1 lead into the first break. Senior forward Leighton Walsh worked his way behind the Pirate’s defense, and after camping out for a few seconds, he found first-year defenseman Cam Glonek in the middle of the ice. Glonek’s shot took a deflection, finding the stick of first-year forward Daniel Kauber, who finished off the garbage goal.

“It makes us very optimistic for the future to see young guys step up and know that years down the line they can continue to do that hopefully, and even develop further,” head coach Adam Dauda said.

A consistent amount of power plays grew North Carolina’s lead to six goals by the end of the second period. As four different Pirates filled the penalty box on three different occasions, the Tar Heels were able to capitalize on their advantage with goals from first-years Nick Curley and Grady.

“We spend a lot of time in practice; at least 30 minutes out of our two hours that we’re allotted," Dauda said. "We spend doing special teams stuff and it pays off."

Outside of the power plays, North Carolina still managed to score two more goals within the second period, giving themselves a comfortable five-score lead at the intermission.

The Tar Heels cooled off to begin the final period as the Pirates came out determined to muster a comeback. A North Carolina power play led to another chance on offense, and with ten minutes to play, Glonek scored the seventh goal for the Tar Heels — their third during power play moments.

“I think we’ve just been able to capitalize on [power plays], just because how well we communicate with each other and how in sync that practice has really made our units,” Curley said.

The Tar Heels will travel to face their rivals, the Duke Blue Devils, in an exhibition game this Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. 

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