Men's Hockey | 3/16/2019 10:26:00 PM
Box Score GENESEO, N.Y. — The Manhattanville College men's hockey team's season came to a close Saturday, March 16, dropping an 8-2 decision to SUNY Geneseo at Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena.
The teams played evenly the first few minutes of the first period, and the game remained scoreless until senior defenseman
Marco Ferraro (Toronto, Ont./St. Michael's Buzzers (OJHL)) fired a wrist shot that found the back of the net to give the Valiants a 1-0 lead, with senior forward
Cory Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif./Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL)) and senior goaltender
Tyler Feaver (Whitby, Ont./Whitby Fury (OJHL)) picking up the assists.
Seconds after the goal, Manhattanville would find itself shorthanded, and Geneseo would capitalize, with Andrew Romano putting in a rebound in front of the net to tie the score at one. Both teams would have one power play opportunity following the goals, but neither team was able to take advantage, ending the first period with a 1-1 score.
Both teams came out strong to start the second. The Knights took the lead just 21 seconds into the period on a goal by David Szmyd. But just 37 seconds later, the Valiants would tie it up on a goal by senior forward
Matt Lippa (Richmond Hill, Ont./Oakville Blades (OJHL)), with senior forward
Eric Berglund (Sollentuna, Sweden/Islanders Hockey Club (USPHL)) adding the assist. Just prior to the midway point of the period, Geneseo would take the lead back when Conlan Keenan put in a rebound to give the Knights a 3-2 lead. The home team would add two more goals before the end of the period, with Henry Cleghorn and Ryan Burnett scoring to give Geneseo a 5-2 lead heading into the third period.
The Valiants received a pair of power plays in the first half of the third period, but were unable to capitalize with the man advantage. The Knights then put the game away with three goals in the final seven minutes of the game, winning by a score of 8-2 to advance to the NCAA Frozen Four.
The Valiants now say goodbye to the team's 13 seniors — Ferraro, Anderson, Feaver, Lippa, Berglund, defensemen
Axel Walltott (Stockholm, Sweden/Varmdo HC J20 (SWE)) and
Oscar Arfelt (Stockholm, Sweden/Connecticut Oilers (EHL)), forwards
Nigel Slade (St. Catherines, Ont./Niagara Falls Canucks (GOJHL)),
Bryan Platt (Trumbull, Conn./Springfield Pics (USPHL)),
Casper Dyrssen (Stockholm, Sweden/Northern Cyclones (EHL)),
Jared Martin (Fort Qu'Appelle, Sask./Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL)) and
Jeff Beck (Broomall, Pa./Philadelphia Junior Flyers (EHL)), and goaltender
Scott Nicolich (Glen Cove, N.Y./Bradford Rattlers (GMHL)).
The seniors made the conference tournament every year of their Valiants careers, helping guide the program to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008 and fifth appearance in program history. The seniors combined to play 1,053 games for the Valiants, and the team amassed a 56-41-12 record during the four years, with multiple players ending their careers in the Manhattanville record books.
