ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Manhattanville men's hockey skated into their second game of their second weekend of UCHC play on Sunday afternoon, battling through a hard-pressing Nazareth University side before ultimately falling 4–1. The Valiants showed strength from start to finish, ending with a tremendous third period performance from Ryan McKenna (Spokane, Wash./Sheridan Hawks (NA3HL)) to avoid the shutout.
Nazareth generated heavy pressure from the opening face off, firing more than a dozen attempts on goal in the first ten minutes alone. Billequey stood tall through three penalties, making multiple point-blank saves to send the Valiants into the first intermission locked in a scoreless battle.
Manhattanville created chances of their own throughout the night, with Mitchell Watson (Calgary, Alberta, Canada/Canmore Eagles (AJHL)), Cameron Vassos (Caledon, Ontario/Navan Grads (CCHL)), and Zach Choueiri (Montreal, Quebec/Renfrew Wolves (CCHL)), each testing Nazareth goaltender Paul Dalessio early in the opening frame.
Nazareth broke through early in the second, taking a 1–0 lead just over two minutes in before doubling their advantage to 2–0 later with slightly over two remaining in the period.
Manhattanville's best moments came on the power play midway through the frame, generating a plethora of shots from Parker Chadwell (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Bay Juniors (USPHL)), Justin Fernet (Sherbrooke, Quebec/Taft School), Johno Hoins (Telluride, Colo./The Frederick Gunn School / Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL)), Vassos, and Choueiri; however, Dalessio continued to hold strong, 2-0 after the second period.
In the third, Manhattanville pushed hard to crack the scoreboard and avoid the shutout. Lucas Baksay (Fairfield, Conn./Connecticut Roughriders (EHL)) rang a shot off the post at 1:32, and later pressure from Rogers, and Paluszak forced Dalessio into several tough saves. Despite a Nazareth power-play goal at 5:30 while down two men and a fourth tally at 11:10, the Valiants refused to go quietly.
Their persistence paid off at 18:53, when Ryan McKenna (Spokane, Wash./Sheridan Hawks (NA3HL)) delivered Manhattanville's highlight of the night. After winning the face off, McKenna weaved through the Nazareth defense, and snapped a perfectly placed shot past Dalessio for his first goal of the season, breaking the shutout and giving Manhattanville a well-earned third-period spark. The unassisted tally capped a strong two-way effort from the junior, who also led the team in face off wins on the night with 14.
Billequey finished the game with a standout performance, making more than 40 saves and keeping Manhattanville competitive through extended Nazareth pressure.
Up Next:
Manhattanville now turns the page toward more non-conference play heading to Hobart College on Saturday December 13th with puck drop at 4 PM
