RYE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College men's hockey team led 3-0 midway through the second period and 5-3 midway through the third, but the Valiants could not hold either lead in settling for a tough 5-5 (OT) tie with Nazareth College in ECAC West Conference action on Friday night at Playland Ice Casino.
 
Manhattanville (7-9-5, 2-7-2 ECAC West) remains in sixth place in the conference after the disappointing tie, while Nazareth (10-7-4, 6-2-3 ECAC West) sits in second place in the conference with four games left in the regular season.
 
Multiple Valiants had good games offensively, led by a goal and two assists from sophomore assistant captain Teagan Waugh (Nanaimo, B.C./Powell River Kings (BCHL)). Senior assistant captain Jake Mooney (Toronto, Ont./North York Rangers (OPJHL)) and freshman Anthony Ragone (Babylon, N.Y./Springfield Pics (USPHL)) both had a goal and an assist each, while sophomore Tanner Hicks (Calgary, Alta./Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) added a pair of helpers for the home team.
 
The Valiants got the first of what would be many goals on the night just 3:44 into the contest, when senior Kevin Struempfler (Lincoln University, Pa./Springfield Pics (EJHL)) found junior Paul Allan Bamberg (Lulea, Sweden/Lulea HF J20 (SWE)) streaking through center ice and the forward got past a defender before putting the puck into the back of the net for this third of the year.
 
That was the only goal of the opening frame, thanks in large part to a strong Valiant penalty kill that fended off a five-minute major and another minor penalty in the first 20 minutes of action. The home team held a 16-12 edge in shots after one period.
 
Manhattanville took advantage of its chance at a five-minute power play midway through the second period, converting a boarding call into a pair of power-play goals. Mooney made it a 2-0 game at 10:09 of the second, when he crashed the net to put home the rebound of a shot from junior Matt Coleman (Brentwood, N.Y./Springfield Pics (EJHL)). Just under two minutes later, Waugh tipped home a Ragone shot from the blue line and the home team had a 3-0 lead at the 12:07 mark.
 
But the game turned quickly and decisively soon after, as Nazareth scored three times in 48 seconds to suddenly tie the score. Ben Blasko got the Golden Flyers on the board at the 13:40 mark, followed 16 seconds later by C.J. Murray's sixth of the year. Then 32 seconds after that, Don Olivieri knotted the game with his seventh of the season to force a Valiant timeout.
 
After five combined goals in 4:19, the remainder of the period went by without a score as the two teams went into the locker rooms tied at three. Nazareth took 17 shots in the middle frame, with Manhattanville also recording 13 attempts.
 
Manhattanville did not look to lose momentum despite the three-goal turnaround, as the Valiants came out and scored twice in the first 6:35 of the third period to seemingly take control once again. Ragone put the home team up yet again at 3:16 with a blast from the circle as the teams skated four-on-three. Classmate Stephen Gaul (Downers Grove, Ill./Springfield Pics (USPHL)) then gave his team a two-goal lead at the 6:35 mark when he stuffed home the rebound of a shot by sophomore Phil Dinner (Simsbury, Conn./Connecticut Oilers (EJHL)).
 
However, the Valiants again could not hold the lead. David Seward made it a one-goal game again just 15 seconds after Gaul's score, and Dominik Gabaj netted the eventual game-tying goal with 8:41 to play in regulation.
 
Both goaltenders secured their nets for the remainder of regulation and into overtime, as the teams settled for the tie. Manhattanville senior netminder Brian Fleming (Saint John, N.B./Northern Cyclones (AJHL)) and Nazareth's Ed Zdolskek both turned aside 38 saves in the draw, as the two teams evenly split the 86 shots on goal over the 65 minutes.
 
The Manhattanville special teams performed well on the night, as the Valiants scored three times on nine power-play chances while also keeping Nazareth off the board on four man-down situations.
 
The Valiants and Golden Flyers will be back at Playland Ice Casino tomorrow to complete their weekend and season series, with the opening faceoff set for 4 p.m.