After a tentative start in front of an energetic crowd in their season opener at the Kent State Ice arena, the Golden Flashes rallied to a 5-2 victory and then capped off the weekend sweep with an overtime 6-5 thriller at RMU Island Sports Center in Pittsburgh against the Colonials.

     “Our game Friday night was exactly what a home-opener should be,” assessed Kent State head coach Jim Underwood. “I couldn’t script that. We fought the nerves, looked like we were a little tentative and as the game went along we got better and better. We were down 1-0 after the first period and then we rattled off five goals during the second and third period.”

     While Kent’s veteran leadership was critical throughout the weekend in scoring-John Buttitta earned seven points via a trio of goals and four assists and Sean Moore tallied four points on three goals and a helper- the incoming freshmen class members on the team also drew notice from Underwood.

    “Those guys (Buttitta and Moore) started right where they were at the end of last season and that is good for us,” Underwood said.

     “I was really impressed with all the freshmen that were in the line-up,” added Underwood. “I felt that they handled the situations very well. There is a lot of room for growth but the upside and potential is excellent.”

      Proof positive of Underwood’s review of his new comers was provided in goal scoring efforts of a pair of freshmen defensemen during the series.

      Justin Bioni netted a power play, game-winning-tally in the home-opener while fellow blue-liner Shane Handlovitch tallied a critical third period goal in the second game of the series.

      If there was an area of concern for the Golden Flashes during the opening weekend it may be in their special teams resulting in a 7-for-11 performance on penalty kill opportunities.

     “Our penalty kill wasn’t that sharp,” offered Underwood. “We spent a lot of time preparing for our penalty kill, so I was a little surprised we didn’t respond a little bit better in those situations.”

     Next up for the Golden Flashes is an away series against the University of Pittsburgh and the weekend will provide both on and off-ice development opportunities for the team according to Underwood.

     “We’re excited as Pittsburgh won their conference last year so this will be a great non-conference opponent for us. It’s another weekend for us to work on different philosophies, different line combinations and grow as a team.”

      “It’s a weekend when we are on the bus together and these trips allow us to better understand everybody. I am starting to see how close these guys are already and that is a very important piece to a winning culture.” continued Underwood.

     “One of our philosophies this year is accountability. We are focusing on horizontal accountability in which we want our guys to build relationships. Regardless of coaching staff or freshman and seniors everybody holds everybody accountable.”

    Combine a winning opening weekend with a team becoming comfortable with each other and, indeed, the season is off to an impressive start in Kent.

Blue Line Notes:

-Kent State Head Coach Jim Underwood is nearing his 100th victory as the mentor of the Golden Flashes. After the sweep of RMU, Underwood needs 10 wins to reach the century victory mark.

-After scoring three goals during the opening weekend, John Buttitta is five goals shy of earning his 100th career collegiate goal.

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