 |
No. 24 Rutgers Tops Butler, 11-3
Feb. 25, 2006
The attack duo of sophomore Nate Sanderson and junior Chris Doctor combined for six goals as 24th-ranked Rutgers (1-0) raced out to a 6-0 first-half lead and downed visiting Butler, 11-3, Saturday at the Rutgers Stadium Complex. The game served as the season opener for the Scarlet Knights, while Butler falls to 0-2 on the young season. Sophomore Ben Sultze found the net twice for Butler, while Cliff Smith picked up his second goal of the season. Smith, Phil Brauch and Adam Wade had assists for Butler. Freshman Kyle Harer got his first career start in goal and made 10 saves in 60 minutes of work. Smith fired a game-high 14 shots for the Bulldogs and Brendan Flanagan led the team with five ground balls. The Scarlet Knights scored three times in a five-minute span in the first quarter and never looked back. Sanderson took a pass from Doctor in front of the goal at the 10:24 mark of the quarter to open the scoring, and then added another tally less then a minute later (9:40) to make the score 2-0. At the 5:15 mark of the first quarter, senior John Manners ripped a shot from 10 yards out on an extra-man situation, making the score 3-0. The game stayed that way until nearly midway through the second period when Sanderson netted his third and final goal of the game, taking a pass from Colin Checcio. Sanderson's goal at 6:40 of the second quarter began a late scoring spree for Rutgers that saw the Scarlet Knights extend their lead to 7-1 at halftime. In goal, senior Greg Havalchak turned back 15 shots and scooped up a team-high seven ground balls for Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights out-shot Butler 33-30 and held a 35-26 advantage in ground balls.
Rutgers held a slight 8-7 advantage in face-off wins and converted two of its seven extra-man opportunities. After struggling clearing the ball in its opener against Duke last weekend, Butler improved to clear 13 of 17 opportunities in the contest. Butler was 0-for-7 with the extra man. The Bulldogs return to action Saturday (March 4), facing off with Bucknell on a neutral field in Pittsburgh, Pa. The game is set for 3 p.m. |
