RYE, N.Y. – The Valiants struck first, but back-to-back goals by the visiting Cougars spoiled the start of the final homestand of the regular season for the Manhattanville University men's hockey team on Friday afternoon. The loss drops Manhattanville to 8-13-1 overall and 7-9-1 in UCHC play and moves the team into a statistical tie for third place with the Cougars (8-12-2, 7-8-2).
 
The Valiants gained the upper-hand with the lone tally of the first period coming off the stick of Lane Paddison (100 Mile House, Canada/Canmore Eagles (AJHL)) at the 12:50 mark. Mitchell Watson (Calgary, Alberta, Canada/Canmore Eagles (AJHL)) tipped a Chatham pass in the defensive zone to Brian Essing (Trumbull, Conn./Norwich Sea Captains (NA3HL)) and found Paddison on the breakout. The junior darted his way down the ice and beat Geno Pichora to the right post for his third goal of the season.

Manhattanville almost doubled-up Chatham in shots on goal in the second, firing 13 pucks on net to the Cougars' seven, but it was the visitors logging the equalizer in the period. Zack Conner put the Cougs on the board with his fourth of the year with 5:05 left in the second period. That would be all for either offense in the middle stanza as the Valiants were unable to capitalize on a pair of power play chances, being held scoreless on five shots with the man advantage.

The Valiants continued to outshoot the Cougars but the adage of quality over quantity proved true once again. Still tied with six minutes left to play, Brendan Pomerantz collected a puck wrapping around the boards in the Chatham defensive zone. The junior lifted a saucer pass out to center ice where he found Bekk McClaine who was off to the races. McClaine beat William Billequey (Montreal, Quebec/Vermont Lumberjacks (EHL)) on the breakaway opportunity for the game-winning goal at the 14:04 mark, his fifth of the year.
Manhattanville furiously tried to pull even over the remainder of regulation, firing two shots on their final power play chance of the night. After being denied with the man advantage, the Valiants emptied the net for the final 2:15 of regulation, firing eight shots to close out the night. Pichora turned away the three that stayed on target to preserve the win for Chatham.

Billequey finished with 20 saves in net for Manhattanville as he falls to 5-6-1 on the year. With three games left in the regular season, the sophomore sports a 2.36 goals-against average with a .936 save percentage.

The Cougars dominated the faceoff battle, 30-19. John Hoins had a team-high seven wins for the Valiants.

Watson and Nicholas Rogers (Broad Channel, N.Y./Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks (NA3HL)) fired six shots on net to lead Manhattanville's offensive efforts.

The Valiants went 0-for-3 on the power play, firing seven shots at Pichora. Chatham was held in check on its lone power play in the third, recording a lone shot on goal.

Up Next
Manhattanville looks for a better outcome tomorrow against the Cougars as the team celebrates Senior Day and Alumni Day at 1 p.m.

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