SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The youthful Wittenberg Tigers still must find that winning formula, the one that allows them to close out a victory when leading in the second half. For the third time in the 2008 season, the Tigers lost a late lead, this time creating a 15-12 loss to visiting Colorado College.
The loss dropped Wittenberg to 5-6 overall with two games remaining in 2008. Colorado College closed out its annual Midwestern tour with a 6-5 overall record.
The key to the game was the visiting Tigers' ability to close out the close game. Trailing 10-8, Colorado College picked up a late third-period goal and then outscored the host Tigers 6-2 in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.
Wittenberg's offense was sparked by sophomore Ted Winders (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township), who scored four goals and picked up six ground balls, and senior Brandon Hulett (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson), who finished with one goal and three assists. Also of note was the play of freshman Danny Johnson (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) with a team-high seven ground balls and freshman Dan Gaines (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) with six ground balls.
The team stats reflected just how even these two sets of Tigers were as Wittenberg held a 42-40 advantage in shots and Colorado College led 50-47 in ground balls. The two teams split 30 faceoffs opportunities evenly at 15 apiece.
The Tigers finish out North Coast Athletic Conference play at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 26, against rival Wooster before putting the finishing touches on the season with a re-scheduled date against Tri-State at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 30.