PITTSBURGH, Pa. - In their return to UCHC play, the Manhattanville University men's hockey team was bested by the Cougars, 3-2, on Friday night at The Hunt Armory Arena. With the result the Valiants slip to 3-5-1, holding a mark of 3-3-1 in the conference slate. 

Despite grabbing the lead early in the contest and holding it for the opening frame, the Cougars' attack of 68 shots total, 36 of which were on net, proved too tall for the Valiants to face. 

Nicholas Rogers (Broad Channel, N.Y./Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks (NA3HL)) started off the scoring 17:04 into the first stanza, after receiving a pass from linemate Artem Mateichenko (Kharkov, Ukraine/New Hampshire Avalanche (EHL)), burying it in the back of the net for his eighth tally of the season and giving the Valiants a 1-0 lead. 

Chatham would use the second frame to tie the contest and eventually mount a lead on the visiting squad, first striking 12:19 into the second. Tyler Samodra would finish off a feed from Michael Roby to even things up at one-all. Six minutes of game time later, Roby would find one of his own, from Brendan Pomerantz, to see the Cougars take a 2-1 lead, taking the game into the final frame. 

In the third period, the special teams unit of the Valiants evened the score again, as Justin Fernet (Sherbrooke, Quebec/Taft School) lit the lamp to finish off a sequence from Johno Hoins (Telluride, Colo./The Frederick Gunn School / Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL)) Corey Popowcer (Parkland, Fla./Vermont Lumberjacks (EHL)) 05:15 into the third period, knotting the score at two-all this time around. Roby would net his brace with just under two minutes left to play, getting the pass for the definitive marker from Carson Grainer, firing it into the net and seeing the Cougars take the contest, 3-2. 

William Billequey (Montreal, Quebec/Vermont Lumberjacks (EHL)) got the start in net for the Valiants, saving 33 shots sent his way. 

Jack Cullen (Trumbull, Conn./Charlotte Rush (USPHL)) and Rodgers both powered the offense for the Valiants, totaling eight shots each.  

Lane Paddison (100 Mile House, Canada/Canmore Eagles (AJHL)) and Ryan McKenna (Spokane, Wash./Sheridan Hawks (NA3HL)) paced Manhattanville in the faceoff circle, with eleven and nine wins, respectively. 

The Valiants went 1-3 in their time with the man advantage, converting on their only shot attempted with the extra skater. They held their counterparts to an 0-3 outing, allowing three shots. 

Up Next 

Both squads return to the Hunt Armory Arena tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. to wrap up the weekend series. 

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