Boxscore

POTSDAM, N.Y. – Manhattanville, ranked 10th in this week's USCHO.com Div. III National Poll, outshot SUNY Potsdam by 28 shots and scored five power-play goals in cruising to a dominating 8-0 victory over the Bears in a non-conference men's hockey matchup on Saturday afternoon at Maxcy Hall Ice Arena.

Lost in the offensive explosion was junior Pierre-Olivier Lemieux (Rimouski, Que.), who did not need to make many great saves but still turned aside all 17 shots he faced to set a new program record with his seventh career shutout. The clean sheet broke a tie that Lemieux had shared atop the Valiant record books with All-American Andrew Gallant '07.

One day after needing a pair of third-period goals to put away Potsdam, Manhattanville had absolutely no trouble in completing the weekend sweep on Saturday, outshooting the Bears by a 45-17 margin and going 5 for 11 on the man advantage in picking up its third straight win. The eight goals are the most scored by the team since putting up nine against Lebanon Valley College on November 6 of last season and the most against a non-league foe since a nine-goal outburst at Western New England College in January 2009.

A cavalcade of Valiants found their name on Saturday's stat sheet, as 13 of 18 skaters recorded at least one point. Senior assistant captain Mickey Lang (Reno, Nev.) led all players with two goals and an assist, while freshman Brian Elser (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) recorded two tallies for the first multi-goal game of his career. Junior Dillon O'Hara (Wallingford, Conn.) and freshman Luc Van Natter (Fort Erie, Ont.) both a goal and an assist for the visitors, while junior assistant captain Evan Michalchuk (Edmonton, Alta.) had two assists as well.

Coming off of yesterday's win, the Valiants wasted very little time getting back on top of the Bears, scoring just 14 seconds into the opening period and never looking back. After sophomore Ron Smith (North Delta, B.C.) won the opening faceoff and the Valiants cycled the puck into the offensive zone, sophomore Brett Skalski (Exton, Pa.) found senior Artem Gumenyuk (Kharkiv, Ukraine) in the high slot and his wrister found the net for his second goal of the season.

Later in the frame, Manhattanville took advantage of an undisciplined Potsdam team to score three times in 2:35 to take a commanding four-goal lead after one period. The first score came on a delayed penalty, as Lang skated into the corner and threw a puck in front that was deflected right to senior captain Lem Randall (Yellowknife, N.W.T.) for an easy put away.

After the goal, Potsdam's Todd Hosmer was assessed not one but two high-sticking penalties, and Manhattanville capitalized on each to double its lead. The first score came at the 15:54 mark, as O'Hara intercepted a clearing attempt at the blue line and fired a shot through a screen for his first goal of the year. Just 62 seconds later, sophomore Brendan Turner (Tisdale, Sask.) found VanNatter alone at the back post for his second in as many games.

In all, Manhattanville posted a dominating 17-5 shot advantage in the first period, as the visitors controlled play all frame long and never allowed the Bears to get into the game from the opening whistle on.

Another Potsdam penalty allowed the Valiant offensive onslaught to continue in the second period, as a five-minute major put the visitors back on the attack. With the man advantage, Elser gathered a loose puck on the far end boards and circled all the way to the near side of the ice before ripping a shot past Potsdam goalie Trevor O'Neill at 13:28 for the score.

The Potsdam mistakes – and subsequently the Manhattanville scores – kept coming later in the frame with yet another Valiant goal. This time it was Lang finding the net, as the All-American won the faceoff and then raced toward the cage to tip home a shot by freshman Marc Zanoni (Lethbridge, Alta.) just five seconds into the man advantage.

The song remained the same in the third period, beginning 2:54 into the frame and again on the power play. Michalchuk kept the puck in the zone at the blue line and fed into the corner for VanNatter, who found Lang streaking toward the crease for the put away, the senior's team-leading 12th goal of the season.

The final goal also came off the stick of Elser, who took a pass in the slot from sophomore Jason Bowles (Elkhorn, Man.) and picked the top corner for the first multi-goal game of his collegiate career.

Manhattanville (8-3-1) will have a few weeks off before the Valiants take part in the Northfield Savings Bank Holiday Tournament, hosted by Norwich University, on December 31 and January 1. MVille begins the tournament on New Year's Eve against current USCHO #7 Adrian College at 1 p.m., with the game broadcast live on WMVL 88.1 FM starting at 12:50 p.m. Potsdam (3-9-0) is off until after the New Year and will travel to fellow ECAC West school Neumann University for two games on January 7-8.