RYE, N.Y. – In another down-to-the-wire contest, the Manhattanville College men's hockey team survived a late surge by Lake Forest to pick up their second win in as many days over the Foresters, 4-3. With the win, the Valiants improve to 6-3-1 on the season.
The Valiants used a four goal second period to power their way to victory. After a scoreless 20 minutes on both sides,
Jarod Lavallee (Cumberland, Maine/Greely) took just 58 seconds out of the locker room to begin the second to get the home team on the board. The senior's sixth goal of the year was set up by
Niko Happo (Kauniainen, Finland/Haukilahti Upper Secondary School) and
Mason Emoff (Collingwood, Ont./Bishop's College School), giving the Valiants their first lead of the day.
The Foresters didn't take too long to respond, capitalizing on a delayed penalty. With the net emptied and an extra skater coming on during the delayed whistle, Lake Forest's Noah Furman fired one home to bring the score back to even.
James Gregory (Darien, CT/Darien High School), the player assessed the interference penalty that set up the visitors' goal, made amends two minutes later, putting the Valiants back on top on a score assisted by
Alex Rowella (Ridgefield, Conn./Holy Cross (H.S.)) and Emoff. Lavallee would strike again 14:11 into the frame, this time unassisted. Then, with just 25 seconds left in the period, Happo got into the goal column with his fourth of the year off feeds courtesy of Lavallee and Emoff.
The Valiants appeared to be cruising to a win with their 4-1 lead after the second, but Lake Forest had other ideas. A little under three minutes into the third, Cullen Kane cut the Manhattanville advantage down to two. As part of a 13 shot third period, the Foresters were determined to get back into the contest. Lake Forest had two power play opportunities in the second half of the period, including earning a man advantage with just under five to play. The Foresters pulled Carson Poulin out of the net for an extra skater, and while nothing would come of it during the power play, the continued offensive pressure eventually broke through the Valiant defense as Ryan Kropp's goal with 1:19 remaining in regulation left the Valiants with a one goal lead.
As was the story a night ago, the Valiants bent but refused to break. Rowella won a pair of crucial faceoff draws while
Hayden Taylor (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Detroit Country Day) got in the way of a last second shot attempt to allow Manhattanville to escape with another nail biter win.
Tyler Roy (Brighton, MI/Brighton High School) made his return to the cage after the night off yesterday, making 31 saves to pick up the win. The Valiants went 0-for-7 on power play opportunities, registering just five shots on the man advantages.
Tristan Frese (Broomfield, CO/Don Bosco Prep) blocked three shots in a strong defensive effort. Rowella and Lavallee combined for 22 faceoff wins to lead the way for the Valiants.
Up Next
The Valiants are back in UCHC action on the road on Friday, taking on Neumann University at 7 p.m.
