CVU's junior captain Kirk Fontana scored a goal during the Redhawks 6-4 loss to South Burlington on Saturday. Photo by Dave Yandell

by Edward Hazen 

Facing a 6-1 deficit at the start of the second period, the Redhawks were in trouble, but would not lie down. CVU would go on to score three more goals and shut out South Burlington for the remainder of the game. The Rebels took the CSB Cup, but not the Redhawks' pride.

"It was unfortunate that we had a poor start," said junior forward and captain Kirk Fontana, "but as the game went along, we started to fight back, hard."

Fight hard the Redhawks did, but it took them a while to take flight. Thirty-nine seconds into the opening period, South Burlington captain Bernie Thibeault scored on the first shot of the game. Less than a minute later, CVU's Cam Rivard answered, scoring on a breakaway, after a Rebel defender tripped, Champlain Valley was on the board.   

Unfortunately, the Rebels were quick to crush the CVU uprising. SB scored five more times in the first period, with goals coming from Dan Gluck, Matt Leonard, Eric Craig, and Matt Baechle, who scored twice. 

The CVU coaching staff was faced with the tough decision of whether or not to pull starting goalie Jason O'Brien. They decided to return O'Brien to his post—a move that South Burlington likely welcomed, but they would be disappointed. 

At the start of the second period, senior captain Wil Yandell spoke to O'Brien. "I put the pressure on Jason. I told him that these next two periods were important to our season." Yandell's words proved powerful, as O'Brien was unstoppable for the rest of the game.

It took the CVU offense longer to get on track, but with 1:28 to go in the second, CVU finally broke through on a goal by junior Alexander Bulla, giving the Redhawks something positive to work with going into the final period.

CVU would add two more goals, delivered by Patrick Pattison and captain Fontana. Though the Redhawks would lose the game, the CVU stands found a renewed sense of excitement. The energy comes at a critical time in the hockey schedule, as CVU is preparing to attempt a playoff run. 

"We're a good team," said captain Fontana. "If we get momentum going into the playoffs anything could happen."