HERSHEY, PA. – Senior forward Matt Lippa (Richmond Hill, Ont./Oakville Blades (OJHL)) opened the night with the game's first goal and finished with four points to help lead the Manhattanville College men's ice hockey team to a much-needed 7-3 victory on the road over United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) opponent Lebanon Valley College Saturday night, Jan. 26.
 
The Valiants (9-7-3, 6-4-3 UCHC) and Flying Dutchmen (7-10-2, 5-6-2 UCHC) traded tallies in the first and ultimately ended the period tied at 2-2. Lippa scored first for Manhattanville with 4:11 gone, assisted by junior Kenny McLean (New Rochelle, N.Y./New York Bobcats (EHL)). Lebanon Valley got one back at 6:47 to even it up at 1-1, but 2:02 later, McLean scored his eighth of the season – fifth in the last six games – on the powerplay to give the Valiants a 2-1 lead. The Flying Dutchmen got one back at the 12:20 mark and the score remained that way headed into the intermission.
 
Manhattanville went on the powerplay several minutes into the second, and senior co-captain Eric Berglund (Sollentuna, Sweden/Islanders Hockey Club (USPHL)) capitalized – from McLean and Lippa – to put the Valiants up 3-2 with 6:02 gone in the period. Seconds later, LebVal was called for another penalty to put Manhattanville on the man advantage once again, but the Flying Dutchmen caught the visitors off guard and tied it up at 3-3 with a shorthanded score with 7:28 gone in the second. With 5:57 remaining until the intermission, senior Nigel Slade (St. Catherines, Ont./Niagara Falls Canucks (GOJHL)) was able to get on the board for the Valiants and put them up 4-3 with the eventual game-winner at 14:03, from freshman Niko Happo (Kauniainen, Finland/Grankulla IFK Hockey Club (FIHA)) and sophomore Braeden Cross (Sechelt, B.C./Cochrane Crunch (CJHL)).
 
Just seconds into the final period, Lippa scored his second of the game, this time on the powerplay – from senior Marco Ferraro (Toronto, Ont./St. Michael's Buzzers (OJHL)) and Berglund – to put the Valiants up by two at 5-3 with 19:19 remaining. Junior blueliner Joel Knight (Stoney Creak, Ont./Markham Royals (OJHL)) continued his hot streak next with a goal of his own with 15:41 left in regulation – assisted by Cross and Slade. Knight has now scored in three straight games. Senior Cory Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif./Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL)) capped off the scoring on the night with 15:13 gone in the third – assisted by freshman Jarod Lavallee (Cumberland, Maine/Seacoast Spartans (ECEL)) and Knight – to seal it at 7-3.
 
Highlights:
- Lippa finished with two goals and two assists.
- McLean notched two assists and a goal for a total of three points. He now has nine points in his last six games.
- Slade, Knight, Berglund and Cross each finished with two points.
- Senior netminder Tyler Feaver (Whitby, Ont./Whitby Fury (OJHL)) finished with 29 saves on 32 shots.
 
Manhattanville will take a couple days off before traveling to Paxton, Mass., for a non-conference meeting with Anna Maria College this Tuesday night, Jan. 29. Puck-drop against the Amcats is scheduled for 5:40 p.m.