HERSHEY, Pa. – The Manhattanville College men's ice hockey team came within one goal late in the third period, but unfortunately came up short in United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) play Friday night, Nov. 15, on the road, falling by a score of 3-2 to Lebanon Valley College.
 
The Valiants (1-3-1, 0-3 UCHC) were outshot 24-13 over the first two periods against the Flying Dutchmen (2-4, 1-2 UCHC) and fell behind 3-0 after 40 minutes of play. However, the Crimson and White dominated the third and final period of play and outshot LebVal 11-3, including a pair of goals.
 
Eric Malcarney of the Dutchmen was called for slashing just over three minutes into the third. The Valiants kept the pressure on during the man-advantage and finally broke through the home defense for their first goal of the game, scored by senior assistant captain Ken McLean (New Rochelle, N.Y./New York Bobcats (EHL)) just over four minutes in – assisted by rookie Hayden Taylor (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Islanders Hockey Club (USPHL)) and Connor Boyce (St. Albans, Vt./Connecticut RoughRiders (EHL)) – to make it a two-goal game at 3-1.
 
Manhattanville kept the pressure on throughout, and with 4:30 remaining in regulation, pulled junior netminder Mac Vail (East Elmhurst, N.Y./Philadelphia Jr. Flyers (EHL)) – he made 24 saves on 27 shots – for the extra skater. The Valiants attack proved too much for Lebanon Valley, and Cole Hepler eventually was called for charging, giving Manhattanville the 6-on-4 advantage with the empty net. Though the Valiants were unable to score on the powerplay opportunity, they had the Flying Dutchmen reeling by the end of it, and 12 seconds after LVC returned to full strength, the Crimson and White got the score from senior assistant captain Joel Knight (Stoney Creak, Ont./Markham Royals (OJHL)) – assisted by sophomores Jarod Lavallee (Cumberland, Maine/Seacoast Spartans (ECEL)) and Niko Happo (Kauniainen, Finland/Syracuse Stars/New Jersey Hitmen (NCDC)) – to make it 3-2 with 00:29 left on the clock. Vail was again pulled with 12 seconds remaining, but Manhattanville was unable to tie it up.
 
Following a flurry of penalties on both sides as time expired, the Flying Dutchmen came out on top. The Valiants look to pick up their first UCHC victory of the season in their next matchup – tomorrow evening, Saturday, Nov. 16 – in Horseheads, N.Y. when they face Elmira College for a 7:00 p.m. puck drop. Manhattanville defeated the Soaring Eagles in the UCHC semifinal series last season, but the all-time series is deadlocked at 27-27-9, with the Valiants holding the 5-2-3 edge over the last 10 meetings.