RALEIGH – As the crowd began to file into PNC Arena for the 2nd Annual Backyard Brawl and the first Governor’s Cup, it did not take long for the Pack to get things rolling.
Just over three minutes into the game Freshman forward Hayden Dewey opens the scoring up for the Wolfpack with an unexpected shot from the boards just inside the blue line and got the crowd in to the game.
Carolina would soon take momentum scoring a goal at the 11:50 mark of the 1st period on a power play. UNC maintained their momentum shortly into the start of the second period and at the 18:30 mark connected on their second goal of the game creating a 2-1 advantage for the Tar Heels over the Wolfpack.
This goal was the last time the Tar Heels had momentum for the rest of the game. The rest of the second period belonged to the Wolfpack who took advantage of their opportunities.
At the 10:40 mark in the 2nd period, Senior Eric Webb responded with the equalizer for the Wolfpack tying things up at 2 a piece. The fireworks were just beginning for the Wolfpack in the 2nd period.
Not even 15 seconds later in the 2nd period, the Wolfpack responded again. At the 10:28 mark of the 2nd period sophomore Eric Johnston scored to give the Wolfpack a 3-2 lead over the Tar Heels and their first lead since Dewey’s goal early in the 1st period. The Wolfpack took the lead and never looked back.
Continuing with their dominance in the 2nd period, the Wolfpack scored again as Eric Webb put in his second goal of the night with 2:23 left in the period pushing the Wolfpack lead to 2 goals. The Wolfpack had everything going for them at the end of the 2nd period with a 4-2 lead after trailing early in the period.
The Wolfpack carried their momentum into the beginning of the 3rd and final period. Under 2 minutes in to the 3rd period at the 18:24 mark of the period the Wolfpack put in their final goal of the night when Ryan Lenzmeier found the back of the net to give the Wolfpack a comfortable 5-2 lead over the Tar Heels which was too much to overcome.
The final goal of the night was put in by UNC with 3:40 left to play making the final score 5-3. There were even more fireworks to end the game as a UNC player appeared to rip off Goalie Joey Hall’s helmet with under 5 seconds left in the game. A brawl occurred between the Wolfpack and the Tar Heels resulting in 2 Wolfpack players being ejected, including Dewey.
After the game Freshman Hayden Dewey talked about his opening goal and the crowd. Dewey said, “It was huge to get on the board first and early in the game. We were able to get the crowd into the game early and often which helped us bounce back from the 2-1 deficit to win against our rivals.”
The Wolfpack hockey team will take break before returning to the ice. The Wolfpack will return to the ice on January 12, at home, against Delaware.