BROCKPORT, NY - Welcoming in their new conference foe by taking the season series, the Manhattanville University men's hockey team swept the Golden Eagles, taking the fourth and final game of the regular season slate, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon at Wegmans Ice Arena.
With the result, the Valiants move to 6-10-1 overall, holding a 5-6-1 record in UCHC play.
Manhattanville seems to have the Golden Eagles number, as the Valiants have won 14 of their 15 meetings dating back to 2001.
Junior captain Lane Paddison finally notched his first tally of the season despite ranking fourth for the Valiants in points, the international product found the net in the first stanza before the buzzer sounded.
In the first period, the contest appeared to be on the script as last night, with the Valiants holding a two-shot margin over their counterparts, 14-12. Manhattanville was able to net themselves the man advantage after a hooking call five minutes into the period, later getting a five-on-three. The Golden Eagle penalty kill was effective, killing off the time at the disadvantage and turning away the four shots fired on net. At 18:34 elapsed in the first, Paddison would net the opening marker for the Valiants, with help from Lucas Baksay, giving Manhattanville the 1-0 lead.
A defensive battle would ensue in the second period, as neither team could find the back netting. Manhattanville would register more attempts on net, 16-9, as both teams would also have one attempt on the power play, leading the contest into the third period with Manhattanville still leading 1-0.
Despite getting outshot for the first time on the weekend, 16-7, the Valiants would find the back of the net two more times, first from an odd-man rush goal from the stick of Elijah Devereaux getting set up by Artem Mateichenko, and Corey Popowcer, mounting a two-goal deficit 11:54 into the final period. The UCHC's leading scorer would pounce on the opportunity to lengthen his lead on the pack, 16:18 elapsed in the third, as the goal scorer Devereaux set up the southpaw to fire in his league-leading fourteenth tally on the season and put the game out of reach for the Golden Eagles, 3-0.
William Billequey got the nod in goal for the Valiants, saving all 37 shots faced his way for the clean sheet. With the shutout win, the sophomore netminder notched his first career shutout as a Valiant.
Rogers paced Manhattanville in the shots department, with seven. Caden Eaton followed suit with six of his own, as Justin Fernet, Parker Chadwell, and Baksay all finished with four-apiece.
Manhattanville dominated in the faceoff circle, registering 39 wins to Brockport's 27. Johno Hoins led the Valiants with 15 wins, followed by Paddison with 11 and Ryan McKenna with ten.
The Valiants had a rough day with the man advantage, turning in a 0-for-5 performance on the day, but holding their counterpart to a 0-for-2 day with the extra skater.
Up Next
Manhattanville returns to the comfy confines of Playland Ice Casino, welcoming in ranked conference foe, Geneseo for a weekend series beginning Friday, Jan. 31 at 7:00 p.m.