Box Score Box Score
RYE, N.Y. – In a wild battle appropriate of an ECAC West Conference showdown, the Manhattanville men's hockey team scored three times in the first period and never looked back in beating its second nationally ranked team of the season with an impressive 6-3 victory over #8 Utica on Friday night at Playland Ice Casino.
The Valiants moved to 2-1 against USCHO Top-15 teams this year, but more importantly moved to .500 in ECAC West play and now sits in a tie for second place headed into a nine-game non-conference swing.
Many Valiants got into the act offensively in the win, led by senior blueliner Marcus von Sydow (Stockholm, Sweden/Djugarden J20 (SWE)) scoring twice for the first multi-goal game of his career. Junior Scott Hudson (St. Albert, Alta./Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL)) also added a goal and two assists for a game-high three points, followed by two points each for senior Evan Michalchuk (Edmonton, Alta./Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL)) and junior Brendan Turner (Tisdale, Sask./Lloydminster Bobcats (AJHL)).
Manhattanville got the game off right just 3:16 into the first period, when the Valiants did a job on the forecheck in the offensive end and eventually got a goal out of it. Junior Jason Bowles (Elkhorn, Man./Waywayseecappo Wolverines (MJHL)) fed back to the blue line for von Sydow, who fired toward the net and beat Utica goaltender Nick Therrien, who never moved due to a nice screen in front of his cage. Senior Dillon O'Hara (Wallingford, Conn./South Kent School) also was credited with an assist on the score, von Sydow's first of the year.
The persistent Valiant forecheck created another scoring chance at the 8:48 mark, when Turner kept the puck in at the point and then skated into the high slot to receive the pass back from junior assistant captain Ron Smith (North Delta, B.C./Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL)) and score his third of the year, giving the home team a two-goal edge.
Utica got one back a few minutes later on a power-play tally from Evan Chlanda, but Manhattanville came right back on its first man-up chance of the game at the 15:43 mark, as again von Sydow found the back of the net from the blue line, this time on a wrist shot off feeds from Turner and Hudson.
The second period featured just one goal, but it was no less important for freshman Mark Rivera (Belmar, N.J./Springfield Pics (EJHL)), as the forward netted the first of his career off a pass from Hudson to put the Valiants up by three goals. That is where the score would stand after 40 minutes, as the home team carried a 4-1 lead and a 25-14 shot edge into the third stanza.
The third period was a wild 20 minutes, featuring four goals, a combined 33 shots and 10 total penalties. Hudson got the frame off to an appropriate start with a shorthanded tally at the 2:03 mark, as he corralled the rebound of a Michalchuk shot and pushed it past Utica backup netminder Evan Smith for his fourth of the year.
But the Pioneers did not go away, as Mike Slowikowski scored on the subsequent power play and Max White tallied a score from the point less than three minutes later to get Utica back in the game and force Valiant head coach Eric Lang to call a timeout to calm down his troops.
That timeout seemed to do the trick, as the Valiants returned to form and tacked on a sixth goal just over two minutes later, with sophomore Luc Van Natter (Fort Erie, Ont./Aurora Tigers (OPJHL)) doing the honors this time. Off a pass out of the defensive zone by Michalchuk, Van Natter and classmate Brian Elser (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./Bay State Breakers (EJHL)) went down the ice on a two-one-one, with the former redirecting a pass through the five hole of Smith to find the net for the fourth straight game.
For the night, Manhattanville reached the 40-shot plateau for the second straight game with a season-high 44 attempts, while also holding Utica to only 28. Senior Pierre-Olivier Lemieux (Rimouski, Que./Neepawa Natives (MJHL)) earned the win by turning aside 25 shots, while Therrien made six saves on nine shots in the first period before giving way to Smith, who made 32 saves on 35 shots the rest of the way despite taking the loss.
Manhattanville (2-3-1, 2-2-0 ECAC West) will play the first of its nine straight non-conference games on Tuesday night, as the Valiants travel to Connecticut College for a 7 p.m. faceoff that will be audio streamed live on WMVL 88.1 FM beginning at 6:50 p.m. Utica (5-3-0, 1-3-0 ECAC West) will return home to host Buffalo State tomorrow at 6:00 p.m.
