ATTLEBORO, MA– The Danbury Colonials bounced back with a vengeance to close out the NA3HL East Showcase, seizing a 4-1 victory from the previously undefeated Lewiston/Auburn Nordiques.
The Nordiques entered the game as one of only two unbeaten teams in the NA3HL, the other being the Bozeman Icedogs. They were highly competitive the first two days of the Showcase, winning a pair of one-goal games, one in the shootout against the Elmira Jr. Soaring Eagles.
Danbury sensed an opportunity to finish with a flourish after two disappointing games in Massachusetts and capitalized. Trailing once again after the first period, the Colonials limited the damage to just one goal against and went to work. A gorgeous passing play on the powerplay from Kolby Donovan to Connor Lefkof ended with a goal by Dylan Webber to even up the score.
Penalties would be the Nordiques’ Achilles heel, as three third period goals would be scored on the man advantage by the black-and-orange brigade. A Kyle McEnany one-timer took a lively ricochet off the endboards and found its way to Donovan’s stick, who tucked it in the left post to give the Colonials the lead.
Donovan would strike again three minutes later, again off an initial shot attempt by McEnany that Nordique netminder Nick Beck could not control. Recent addition Kevin Remson would pot his first goal of his junior career to cap off the 4-1 victory.
“It was a great team win,” Kolby Donovan nodded after the game. “We just kept shooting and doing the little things right when it meant the most. It’s a great way to cap off the weekend by beating a team that hasn’t lost since March.”
Donovan finished with five points in the three-game showcase.
Assistant coach Brian Allen credited much of the victory to Michael Nardi, the Colonial goaltender making his first career start in junior hockey. Nardi made 32 saves in the win.
“We got off to a slow start, and we owe a lot to [Nardi] on his play early,” Allen explained. “We were happy to see the guys battle back through some adversity and capitalize on the man advantages.”
“I’m so excited,” Nardi smiled following the game. “The boys in front really helped me.”
The Colonials will return to Danbury to prepare for a weekend trip to New Jersey, where they have a back-to-back with the Skylands Kings.
