The Plague Defeats Wittenberg in a 13-5 Victory

Kelly and Iorio Combine for Nine Goals in 13-5 win

by Blake Rehberg

Winter Term is designed for self-improvement, and it sure seems to have worked for the Plague. Their first game since a tough loss to Baldwin Wallace last December was a smashing success. The Plague defeated Wittenberg 13-5, controlling much of the game. 

“As a team we played well. Everyone was working together, and we were playing some good Eddie Shore old time Hockey as they say,” junior Dave Smolev said. “[Senior] Evan Kelly and [sophomore] Matt Iorio combined for nine goals which doesn’t hurt either.”

The Plague jumped out to an early lead. The first line consisting of junior co-captain Kert Heinecke, Kelly and Iorio scored three quick goals.

The Plague had two more goals in the first period from Chris Lieday, who does not actually attend Oberlin. Wittenberg was upset that Lieday was playing because they said he attended another Ohio university. He is from the Oberlin community and has recently dropped out of school to play hockey full time. He was a factor, scoring two of the Plague’s 13 goals.

Wittenberg only scored two goals in the first period. One of those came off of a power play.
The Plague may have dominated, but the second period was a little more even. Wittenberg came out strong, forcing some good saves from sophomore goalie John Bresky. However, the Plague maintained their momentum and scored three more goals.

Wittenberg also kept up the pressure and managed to score three goals of their own to close the second period. All three Wittenberg goals came from apparent breakdowns in the Plague defense. Bresky did his best to stop as many shots as possible but he was suffering from an injury and couldn’t stop them all.

The Plague was still up 8-5 at the beginning of the third period, but the strong Wittenberg finish in the second period seemed threatening. Despite continued efforts the Plague was frustrated for the first half of the final period.

In the second half of the third period Kelly and Iorio broke it wide open, scoring five quick and impressive goals to seal the 13-5 win over Wittenberg.

“We beat Wittenberg that badly because it’s a little known secret around the hockey world that the Plague kicks ass,” said Smolev, who had two assists in the game. “And let’s face it, Wittenberg is just our bitch.”
Unfortunately, the Plague’s membership has been dropping. Senior Zoli Szuts graduated and some members have left the team. This might hurt the Plague in their last home game of the season against Baldwin Wallace. 

“Hopefully [the win] will be able to give us some confidence which will carry into this week’s game,” James Kenler OC ’00 said.

The Plague had a hard time dealing with some of the individual skill that Baldwin Wallace had back in December when Oberlin lost at home. 
“If we play with confidence and manage to contain their best player it should be a really good game,” Kenler said.

Baldwin Wallace has promised to bring a busload of fans neutralizing one of the Plague’s biggest advantages, its home crowd.
“If we get the kind of support that we are used to from the Plague faithful there should be a lot of emotion both on and off the ice,” Kenler said. 
The Plague plays Baldwin Wallace at 10 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17.