RYE, N.Y. – A pair of goals from rookie defenseman Tristan Frese (Broomfield, CO/Don Bosco Prep) was the recipe for success for the Manhattanville College men's hockey team on Saturday night, defeating SUNY Cortland 3-2 at the Playland Ice Casino. The non-conference victory improves the Valiants' record on the season to 7-4-1.

Manhattanville came back from a pair of one-goal deficits to improve to 4-1 on their home ice this year. The Red Dragons fired the opening salvo on a Jona Hildreth shot 4:35 into the contest. Frese would respond at the 13:15 mark with his first career goal off assists by Kyle Miller (Bristol, Conn./Trinity-Pawling) and Josh Fletcher (Calgary, Alb./Central Memorial). Manhattanville had an opportunity to take the lead late in the period after Cortland's Luca Esposito was sent to the box for hooking at 15:49, but momentum swung the other way as the Red Dragons' Michael Sciore scored shorthanded in the closing seconds of the Valiant power play. The goal was the first period different maker as Cortland held the 2-1 lead after the opening 20.

The Valiants would take long to even the score once again, as Mason Emoff's (Collingwood, Ont./Bishop's College School) third of the season, assisted by Jarod Lavallee (Cumberland, Maine/Greely) and Niko Happo (Kauniainen, Finland/Haukilahti Upper Secondary School), tied the game up at 2-2 2:56 into the period. The score would hold there until the 16:57 mark, when Frese would strike again, this time set up by Glynn Robitaille (Northville, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) and Troy Crosson (Hatfield, Pa./Pennridge).

The one goal cushion was plenty for Tyler Roy (Brighton, MI/Brighton High School) to work with in net as he shut down the Red Dragons for the rest of the evening. The Valiant netminder made a season-high 37 saves on the night, ending the game with 19 stops in the third period. Roy's goals against average now sits at 3.18 while his save percentage rises to .907.

Manhattanville did not get another chance on the man advantage outside of the lone first period power play. The PK unit did their job, holding Cortland 0-for-5 with the man advantage with 10 shots. Faceoffs were 28-27 in favor of the visitors, with Fletcher's eight leading the Valiants.

Up Next
The next time the Valiants take the ice, the calendar will read 2022. Manhattanville returns to action on Jan. 14 against Nazareth.

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