No. 11 UVA (4-1) used an early 10-0 run on Wednesday night to cruise past the High Point Panthers (2-3) inside Klöckner Stadium, 18-12.
“I am really happy about the energy we played with tonight,” said Virginia head coach Lars Tiffany. “We flew around and we played really fast. We were aggressive and we created a tempo that we were hoping for. We don’t want that half field patient game to be played and I am really excited that was not the case tonight.”
The Cavaliers took an early 3-0 lead on the heels of two Michael Kraus goals and one assist. Kraus capped the run with 5:45left in the first period, unassisted. It was one of two unassisted goals by the Cavaliers against the Panthers.
High Point retaliated with three goals of its own, tying the game at 3-3. Nate Carter scored his first goal of the season to cap the run with 59 seconds left in the first period. UVA won the ensuing faceoff and Mike D’Amario scored the first of his four first-half goals with 31 seconds left in the first quarter.
D’Amario’s goal started a 10-0 run that gave the Cavaliers a 13-3 lead with 11:19 left in the third quarter. D’Amario scored all four of his goals during the spurt. Dox Aitken scored three of his career-high five goals during the run as well.
High Point made it interesting in the third, returning serve with a 6-1 run to cut its deficit to six goals, 15-9. Nick Basile scored an extra-man goal with 44 seconds left in the third quarter.
“We can score five goals quickly and also give up five in a row – maybe even quicker,” said Tiffany. “A run against us is going to be multiple goals because our runs are multiple goals.”
UVA held off High Point in the fourth, outscoring the Panthers 4-3 in the final frame to seal the victory. Aitken scored his fifth goal on a Kraus assist at 4:29, followed by Mikey Herring’s first goal of the season on an extra-man situation with 1:05left in the game to cap UVA’s scoring.
Four Cavaliers tallied at least five points, led by Kraus and his seven. Kraus scored two goals and dished out five assists. Zed Williams also dished out five assists. Williams first assist of the game was the 100th career point of the senior’s career. Aitken (five goals) and D’Amario (four goals, one assist) round out the top UVA scorers. UVA assisted 16-of-18 goals. Joe French also had a hat-trick with three goals, while adding one assist.
Virginia won the battle of shots (51-41), ground balls (54-40), faceoffs (25-8) and turnovers (28-23). High Point had more saves (19-12)
Virginia opens ACC play on Sunday at No. 12 Syracuse. The game inside the Carrier Dome will commence at noon and be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
High Point 3-0-6-3-12
Virginia 4-7-3-4-18
Att-840
Scoring (G-A) – H: Jason Ashwood 3-1, Connor Robinson 2-1, Nick Basile 2-0, Sean Harrison 1-1, Michael LeClair 0-2, Nate Carter 1-0, Cole Carns 1-0, Nick Walsh 1-0, Grant Bimstefer 1-0, Mitchel Snyder 0-1, Terrell Sands 0-1, Tim Troutner Jr 0-1, Luke Cappetto 0-1, Ricky Koehler 0-1 V: Michael Kraus 2-5, Dox Aitken 4-1, Mike D’Amario 4-1, Zed Williams 0-5, Joe French 3-1, AJ Fish 2-1, Ryan Lukacovic 1-2, Mikey Herring 1-0, Ryan Conrad 0-1.
Goalie Summary – H: Tim Troutner Jr. 60:00. 19 saves, 18 goals allowed. V: Will Railey 30:00. 6 saves, 3 goals allowed; Griffin Thompson 30:00. 6 saves, 9 goals allowed.
Shots: H-41, V-51
Ground Balls: H-40, V-54
Clearing: H-24×31, V-22×25
Faceoffs: H-8, V-25
Penalties: H-6-4:30, V-4-3:00
EMO: H-2×4, V-4×6
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Chris Graham
