Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala wasn't surprised his team had a tough game Saturday against Siena.
This was the third game in eight days for the Blue Jays, and Siena was ready and battled through the first three quarters. But early in the fourth quarter, Zach Palmer and Brandon Benn scored 54 seconds a part to help No. 2 Johns Hopkins pull away for a 9-5 victory at Homewood Field.
The Blue Jays beat Towson last Friday and Delaware on Tuesday, and they were a little tired. In addition, the Saints had a whole week to prepare for this game. The weather didn't help matters, with the game-time temperature at 40 degrees along with swirling 25-mph winds.
"We knew we were going to have to grind this one out," Pietramala said. "We did the things we needed to do to walk away with kind of an ugly win."
A beautiful fourth-quarter effort helped the Blue Jays get that ugly win. Johns Hopkins (3-0) held a 6-5 lead after three but dominated that final period.
The Blue Jays scored all three goals in the quarter, held a 10-1 edge in shots and won all four faceoffs .
"We finally kind of got in the groove, limited the turnovers and got a couple of goals," said Wells Stanwick of Johns Hopkins. "That kind of sealed the win."
Everything began to change early in the final quarter. Johns Hopkins forced a turnover when Siena (1-1) had possession in Blue Jays' territory. Marshall Burkhart grabbed the loose ball and quickly took off.
Burkhart ran deep into Siena territory and found Stanwick (two goals, one assist) on the left side. Stanwick quickly made a nice pass to Palmer (two goals, two assists) on the right, and he finished the tic-tac-toe play for a 7-5 lead with 12:52 left.
"When you give them those opportunities in transition, they're going to finish," Siena goalie Tom Morr said.
The Blue Jays then got a bit of a break on Benn's goal 54 seconds later. John Greeley fired a shot that hit the post, but bounced right to where Benn was standing, away from the goalie. Benn scooped up the rebound and fired it into the empty net.
Lee Coppersmith (two goals) added another insurance goal later for the 9-5 final.
Mike Poppleton helped Johns Hopkins by winning 15 of 18 faceoffs . The Blue Jays took a 3-1 lead in the first quarter as Poppleton won all five draws there. He got each of the four fourth-quarter faceoffs as Johns Hopkins kept possession for long stretches.
But the Saints, led by Chris Roth's two goals, remained close. Johns Hopkins held a 4-3 halftime lead .
"I think it's a sign of the potential we have that we can stay in games even if we're not finishing our shots or making great passes," Palmer said. "We're still working hard enough to stay in the games and eventually break through and get the win at the end."
The Blue Jays have a break until they play Friday at Princeton, but Pietramala was happy with how his team came up with a tough win on a cold afternoon.
"I'm proud of our guys," Pietramala said. "You've got to make plays in any game. We were able to make a couple of plays…we needed to just stay the course, and I thought today we did that."