Men's Hockey | 3/2/2019 9:19:00 PM
Box Score Utica, N.Y. — The Manhattanville College men's hockey team dropped Game One of the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) Final to Utica College by a score of 5-2 Saturday, March 2 at Adirondack Bank Center.
The Valiants grabbed the lead in the first minute of the game, as senior forward
Cory Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif./Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL)) put in a rebound off a shot by junior defender
Ryan Jackson (Montreal, Que./Hawkesbury Hawks (CCHL)) to give the Valiants a 1-0 lead, with senior forward
Jared Martin (Fort Qu'Appelle, Sask./Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL)) also picking up an assist on the play.
Midway through the first period, the Valiants went on the penalty kill but were able to successfully kill it off. The score would remain 1-0 until late in the first period, when Utica's Brad Becker tied the game with a wrist shot from the slot that beat Manhattanville senior goaltender
Tyler Feaver (Whitby, Ont./Whitby Fury (OJHL)), sending the teams into the first intermission tied at one.
Manhattanville went to the penalty kill early on in the second period, but were once again able to kill it off. The Valiants had sustained offensive zone pressure over the next several minutes, but were not able to break through. Manhattanville then drew a penalty of its own midway through the period but was unable to capitalize.
Utica got another power play towards the end of the period and was this time able to cash in. Conor Landrigan took a shot from the left faceoff dot that was partially deflected and found its way past Feaver to give the home team a 2-1 lead late in the second. The Valiants went right back on the penalty kill, and Utica's Tyler Pietrowski scored to give the Pioneers a 3-1 lead heading into the third period.
Due to a scuffle at the end of the second period, Utica started the third period with another power play, but the Valiants were able to kill the penalty. Just after a power play of their own had expired, Martin got the Valiants back in it with a shot that deflected past Utica goaltender Gianluca Baggetta to cut the lead to 3-2.
The score remained the same until Utica's Jamie Bucell scored to give the Pioneers a 4-2 lead with just over five minutes remaining. The Valiants had a power play late and pulled Feaver to gain a 6-on-4 advantage, but were unable to convert and dropped Game One 5-2 after an empty net goal by Gregg Burmaster.
The Valiants and Pioneers face off in Game Two of the UCHC Final Sunday, March 3. The Valiants need to win in regulation or the five-minute sudden-death overtime to make it to the mini-game tomorrow. If Utica wins or the teams tie, Utica will win the UCHC Championship. Puck drop for tomorrow's game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
