OC Catches the Plague Against Case Western

Fans Cause $400 in Damage After 5-1 Plague Loss

The Plague is finally back, but alas, they're not the team they once were. Saturday's game against Case Western made it apparent that this while this was the Plague's first game of the season, Case has been getting in shape. The return of senior Dan Bourque, junior Evan Kelley and senior Nat Howard brought marked improvement to the all but non-existent team from last semester, but it still wasn't enough to bring the Plague their first victory of the year.

The Plague came out slow, with junior Jess Friedman in the net. Without any defensive help, Case scored three goals in the first period. First-year John Breskey came in to replace Friedman and quickly surrendered a goal, but then kept Case scoreless until the third period. In the meantime, the Plague just couldn't put the puck in the net. Frustrated by the defeat, Bourque cited an anemic offense as the greatest factor in the team's recent struggles. "We try and try, but cannot score. I probably had over 10 shots on net, but nothing. Finally, in the third period, Kurt Henieke scores a goal, assisted by Kelley, to make it 4-1. But then Case follows that up with a goal of their own to make the final score 5-1.

"We took a lot of dumb penalties," said Bourque, "and we did not play as a team. We did [nothing] on the powerplay. It was very sloppy hockey. We had chances, but never put them away." It was definitely clear that the Plague lacks the offensive power that it boasted last year, before the team lost high-scoring graduates Greg Scranton, Jon Gonelli and Ben Bernard. The Plague also suffered from the same problem it has always had, a lack of cohesiveness. To make matters worse, the team's physical brand of "Jersey-style" hockey has all but vanished since the departure of infamous goons like Park Burger and Ted Carleton.

But this was just the first game of the young semester, and there's time for improvement. "If we play as a team we can win the next one," said Bourque. Kelley, who separated his shoulder when he took a huge hit in the second period, also seemed optimistic. "We lacked cohesiveness and we have a bunch of rookies, but we'll get better," he said.

Of course, not everybody was having a slow night. The fans were at the rink in all of their drunken rage to shout obscenities and beat on the glass like monkeys on their cage. "The fans were great," said Bourque, "but they cannot do stupid stuff like throwing garbage cans on the ice and starting fights with the other team. I had a talk with the athletic director and the rink manager, and they're not happy." Indeed, the rowdy crowd caused $400 in damage to the rink, and Athletic Director Mike Muska has declared that such irresponsibility will not be tolerated in the future.

Although the game wasn't outstanding, there should be a few more this semester, and there will even be a rematch with Case Western on Friday, Mar. 3. With any luck, the Plague will take several valuable lessons from this past weekend's debacle and will come out as a stronger, more cooperative team in future contests. But even if they don't , they'll still be the Plague, and their games will still feature a healthy dose of intense competition, drunken rowdiness and live music. (Rumor has it that Presto Chango, a Quiet Riot cover band, may schedule a few surprise gigs to coincide with the Plague's home games.) So who knew that Oberlin, famous for its athletic apathy, would become a school of rabid hockey fans?

The calm after the storm: Members of the Plague seek to redeem themselves after a loss to Case. (photo by Brian Hodgkin)