RYE, N.Y. - Using seven goals in the second and third periods, the Manhattanville University men's hockey team notched the elusive victory on senior day, upending Chatham 8-3. With the win, the Valiants now reside at 9-13-1, with a near even mark of 8-9-1 in conference play. Manhattanville has clinched a home playoff game, now sitting firmly in the third seed, with 25 total points going into the final week of the regular season. 

Six different skaters found the back netting in the Valiants highest goal-scoring outburst of the season, for the most tallies in a contest since almost exactly five years ago, against Kings (Pa.) on Feb. 14, 2020. 

Prior to the start of Saturday's contest, the Valiants recognized their senior class of three for their contributions on and off the ice. James Gregory (Darien, Conn./Connecticut Roughriders (EHL)), Artem Mateichenko (Kharkov, Ukraine/New Hampshire Avalanche (EHL)), and Raymond Speerbrecker (Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada/Revelstoke Grizzlies (KIJHL)) were all recognized with a pre-game ceremony as the trio get set for graduation at the conclusion of the spring semester.  

The Valiants found the opening marker six minutes into the first period, after Tristan D'Elia (West Chester, Pa./Philadelphia Little Flyers (EHL)) received a feed from     Elijah Devereaux (Webster, N.Y./Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks (NA3HL)) and Tyler Rolston (Newport, Pa./P.A.L Jr. Islanders (NCDC)), as Devereaux set up the goal scorer with a centering pass, to hit the southpaw on the tape marking the first goal of the game. It would seem as if déjà vu had struck the ice casino, as similar to last night the Cougars were able to level the score later in the first stanza, with Camden Smith and Nicholas Babbie connecting passes to Nick Cyprian, who buried home the tying tally, sitting the contest at one-all 16:24 into the first period. 

Manhattanville would then explode for a huge four-goal period, with Lane Paddison (100 Mile House, Canada/Canmore Eagles (AJHL)) kicking things off twenty seconds into the contest after Mitchell Watson (Calgary, Alberta, Canada/Canmore Eagles (AJHL)) found Parker Chadwell (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Bay Juniors (USPHL)) on the blue line, who then fired it on net as Paddison was able to clean up and give Manhattanville a one-goal cushion. Brock Forrest was able to answer back for Chatham, with help from Evan Mitchell, settling things at 2-2, 2:28 in the second period. Corey Popowcer (Parkland, Fla./Vermont Lumberjacks (EHL)) would find his first on the day, firing from the point after Devereaux found Zach Choueiri (Montreal, Quebec/Renfrew Wolves (CCHL)), who squared it to his defense-mate Popowcer for the two-goal margin, 3-2. Popowcer netted his brace in similar fashion, unleashing a shot from the left point and finding its way into the back of the net at the 10:20 mark. D'Elia rounded out the second period onslaught with a brace of his own, with help from linemate Michael Locke (Wakefield, Mass./Northeast Generals (NA3HL)) and Parker Chadwell (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Bay Juniors (USPHL)), putting Manhattanville ahead by three goals, 5-3. All told the Valiants would outshoot their counterparts 18-9 in the period. 

In the third period, Zach Conner would find Carson Grainer to net a consolation goal halfway through the third period, for the Cougars third and final goal of the contest. Justin Fernet (Sherbrooke, Quebec/Taft School) would have the Valiants swiftly answer back to the Cougars' goal, giving Manhattanville a three-goal cushion fifty seconds after the Chatham tally. Mateichenko would push the Valiant total to seven goals after Nicholas Rogers (Broad Channel, N.Y./Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks (NA3HL)) found the all-time assists leader, for the 7-3 lead. Senior captain Speerbrecker would cap the Valiants best day in five years from a one-tee on the right post after a cross-crease pass from Mateichenko 17:58 in the third, putting the final score at 8-3 for the Valiants first Senior Day win since the 2018-19 season. 

Sebastian Woods (Limehouse, Ontario, Canada/Utica Jr. Comets (NCDC)) spent all sixty minutes in net for the Valiants, turning away 19 shots faced his way. 

D'Elia paced Manhattanville in the shots department, with twelve. Johno Hoins (Telluride, Colo./The Frederick Gunn School / Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL)) and Ryan McKenna (Spokane, Wash./Sheridan Hawks (NA3HL)) followed closely behind with nine-apiece. 

Manhattanville won the battle on the dot, 41-33. Paddison turned in the most wins with twelve on the day. 

The Valiants went 2-of-5 on the day with the man advantage, firing four shots. The Cougars were held scoreless in their lone attempt with the extra skater. 

Up Next 

The Valiants now look to a home-and-home series with the Pioneers to determine which seed Manhattanville holds in the UCHC Tournament. 
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