It was the final home game for six seniors, who now lead the team to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) playoffs where they will square off against top-seeded Norwich University.

The final home game for the Thoroughbreds proved to be an exciting one, with the winning goal coming on an end-to-end score late in the third period by freshman Brett Bandazian (Wyckoff, N.J.).

To start the game, Wesleyan jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Skidmore battled back to tie the score with goals by Alex Mykolenko (Kharkiv, Ukraine) and Ted Gowan (Hamilton, N.Y.) late in the first period.

The Cardinals came out strong again in the second period scoring a quick goal at 4:45 to take a 3-2 lead. Freshman Joe Melynk (Rotterdam, N.Y.) answered with a goal at 18:20 to tie the score, only to be followed by a Wesleyan goal 37 seconds later to give the Cardinals a 4-3 lead going into the third period.

Similar to so many other games this season, however, the resilient Thoroughbreds continued playing hard and fought back once again by scoring midway through the third period on a Pat Tyman (West Suffield, Conn.) goal to tie the game at 4-4.

Just when the game appeared it was heading into overtime, Bandazian skated the length of the ice on a Skidmore line change, weaving through defenders on the way to the winning score.

“We have a young team that has improved over the course of the season, and I am proud of how hard they have worked,” Skidmore head coach Neil Sinclair said.

On the heels of Bandazian’s winning score, the Thoroughbreds look to maintain momentum heading into the ECAC quarterfinal match against top-seeded Norwich University this Saturday in Northfield, Vt.

Following a strong 2006-07 campaign, Skidmore returned this season with a young squad playing against the same talented teams in the ECAC. In a season complicated with injuries, the Thoroughbreds played with heart and resilience finishing the season with a record of 7-16-2 (4-14-1 ECAC).

“One of the hurdles we have had to overcome this year is injuries,” said Sinclair, adding that the team was particularly stretched over the last two weekends.

“It is a tribute to the players and their sense of team that they pitched in to play positions they have not played before in their hockey careers.”

Despite these hurdles, Skidmore remains confident in their ability to create shots on goal and compete against any team in the league.

Making sure some of those shots get into the net is something they will have to do to compete against the league’s leading scoring team Saturday night.

“Our goal is to play our game and be better at the end of the day,” Sinclair said. “We are most concerned with our team play and trying to execute that.”

No matter what the result is of Saturday’s quarterfinal game, the Thoroughbreds are poised for continued success in the future and have already secured the heart and fortitude of champions.