Men's Hockey | 3/9/2019 10:10:00 PM

Box Score Boston, Mass. — Playing in their first NCAA Tournament in game 11 years, the Manhattanville College men's hockey team defeated the University of Massachusetts-Boston in a back-and-forth affair to advance to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal, defeating the Beacons 6-4 Saturday, March 9 at Edward T. Barry Ice Rink.
 
The teams started at a fast pace, with both teams getting chances early but neither able to convert. The score remained scoreless until the 7:26 mark of the first period, when UMass Boston's Stevie Bryant was able to cash in on an odd-man-rush to give the Beacons a 1-0 lead.
 
The score remained the same until senior forward Casper Dyrssen (Stockholm, Sweden/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) fired a wrist shot from the slot that found the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1, with senior defenseman Marco Ferraro (Toronto, Ont./St. Michael's Buzzers (OJHL)) and senior forward Nigel Slade (St. Catherines, Ont./Niagara Falls Canucks (GOJHL)) providing the assists.
 
Late in the first period, Manhattanville earned the first power play opportunity of the game. With time winding down on the man-advantage, senior forward Bryan Platt (Trumbull, Conn./Springfield Pics (USPHL)) put the Valiants ahead, going to the front of the net and putting in a shot from the slot to give the road team a 2-1 lead, with senior forward Cory Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif./Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL)) and senior defenseman Axel Walltott (Stockholm, Sweden/Varmdo HC J20 (SWE)) picking up the assists. Late in the first period, the Beacons were able to tie the game up on a goal by Jeffrey Skinner on a 2-on-1 rush with just 23.5 seconds remaining, sending the teams to the intermission tied at two.
 
The Valiants received a power play in the first minute of the second period, and senior forward Matt Lippa (Richmond Hill, Ont./Oakville Blades (OJHL)) gave Manhattanville the lead once again on a one-timer from the left faceoff circle, putting the Valiants ahead 3-2 with senior defensemen Oscar Arfelt (Stockholm, Sweden/Connecticut Oilers (EHL)) and Marco Ferraro (Toronto, Ont./St. Michael's Buzzers (OJHL)) providing the assists.
 
With just under five minutes gone by in the second, it appeared the Valiants had taken a 4-2 lead, but the goal was waved off due to interference on the goaltender. Shortly after, Manhattanville had another power play opportunity, but took a penalty of their own to end the man advantage.
 
The Valiants then received another power play with just over eight minutes remaining in the period, but were again unable to capitalize. The Valiants then killed off a UMass Boston power play opportunity, but the Beacons' Chris Peters would score just as the penalty expired, tying the game at three going into the third period.
 
The Beacons received a power play early on in the third period, but Valiants goaltender Tyler Feaver (Whitby, Ont./Whitby Fury (OJHL)) made a number of big saves to keep the game tied. Moments later, Peters scored his second of the game to put the home team ahead 4-3 midway through the period.
 
The score remained the same until late in the third, when Lippa picked up his second of the game to tie the game at four with 5:50 left in regulation. Junior forward Kenny McLean (New Rochelle, N.Y./New York Bobcats (EHL)) and Ferraro provided the assists on the goal, helping the Valiants draw even.

Then with just 1:04 remaining, Lippa picked up the hat trick by going to the front of the net and redirecting a shot past Beacons goaltender Bailey MacBurnie to give the Valiants a 5-4 lead, with junior defenseman Joel Knight (Stoney Creak, Ont./Markham Royals (OJHL)) and senior forward Eric Berglund (Sollentuna, Sweden/Islanders Hockey Club (USPHL)) picking up the assists. UMass Boston then pulled their goalie in a last effort to tie the game, but Slade added an empty net goal with 15.1 seconds remaining to seal the 6-4 win for the Valiants.
 
The Valiants now move on to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals for the first time since 2008, where they will take on SUNY Geneseo Saturday, March 16, with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 p.m.