Playing Holy Cross was just the remedy Duke needed following a tough 8-7 overtime loss to then-No. 4 Maryland Saturday.
The No. 3 Blue Devils (4-1) were anxious to get back onto the field and took it to the Crusaders (0-3), out-shooting them, 64-14, and scoring at will in defeating their easily overmatched opponent, 20-2.
"It just kind of takes the bite of Saturday out a little bit," head coach Mike Pressler said. "We don't have all week to have that hangover on us. We had a nice win today."
Despite leading at halftime, 7-0, Duke had not shoot well, connecting on just 7-of-35 shots. The Blue Devils controlled play the entire half but had trouble finding the net.
Duke turned up the offensive intensity in the third quarter, scoring four goals in the first three minutes and eight in the period. Midfielder Peter Lamade started the flurry of goals 40 seconds into the quarter. The junior took a pass from Kyle Dowd just left of the goalie and quickly launched a shot past Matt Fallon for the man-up goal.
After two goals in quick succession by Zach Greer and Mike Catalino, Greer finished the blitz as Matt Danowski drew the bulk of the Crusader defense and dumped a pass to Greer for a simple finish and an 11-0 lead with 12:37 remaining in the quarter. Lamade and Greer both finished the contest with a game-high three goals.
"Coach Pressler always says the first five minutes of the third quarter are the most important part of the game," Lamade said. "We only had seven goals in the first half and I think you want to come out fast. Just coming out strong in the third quarter is important for games we are going to have later in the season."
With the game in hand after Greer's goal, Pressler replaced most of the starters with substitutes in order to give them playing time. The Duke second-team continued to outplay Holy Cross, outscoring the Crusaders 9-2 over the game's final 25 minutes.
"It's also nice to get some guys in," defenseman Tony McDevitt said. "You know, they practice so hard during the week and go against the first team and it's great to see some of them get a chance to go play and score some goals and make some nice hits."
Holy Cross was clearly overwhelmed, and registered zero shots on goal in the second quarter. The Duke offense controlled the ball for the majority of the game and the Crusaders even had trouble when the Blue Devils turned the ball over, converting on just two of 12 clears in the first half.
"It's great, [the offensive players] sit down there and have 2-minute long possessions," McDevitt said. "You're getting like 4 or 5 shots on each possession. We're not even seeing much action down at our end. The best defense is our offense sometimes."
Holy Cross finally scored with 8:35 remaining in the third quarter. Paul LeBlanc sent a pass from the left side to Billy Klotz just in front of the goal, who snuck a shot past Blue Devil backup goalie Rob Schroeder to end the shutout. John O'Sullivan added an unassisted goal in the beginning of the fourth quarter to finish the Crusaders' scoring.
"They were outmanned," Pressler said. "It was a speed factor, we had a few more athletes and our guys were hungry to play. The sting of Saturday was still there. We took care of business and played well."
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