ROCHESTER, NY – Spending the weekend up north, the Manhattanville University men's hockey team opened a two-game series against UCHC foe Nazareth with a win, taking down the Golden Flyers 3-2.
The win brings Manhattanville (7-12-1, 6-8-1 UCHC) into sole possession of third place in the conference standings after the dust has settled on Friday night's action. The Valiants hold a two-point advantage over Chatham with five games remaining in the regular season standings for the No. 3 seed, while Nazareth (6-12-2, 2-11-2) remains in fifth in the standings following an eighth-straight loss.
Nicholas Rogers' incredible season added another chapter as the conference's leading goal-scorer put Manhattanville in front with a pair of first period goals. The sophomore first struck 8:15 into the game off a pair of assists by Cameron Vassos and Artem Mateichenko. Rogers and Mateichenko connected again six minutes later on the power play, with Corey Popowcer setting up the tandem with the secondary assist.
Rogers now has 17 goals on the season, the third-most in the nation at the end of Friday. The goal total is the most by a Valiant since the 2019-20 season, with Rogers still having five more regular-season games to add upon his total.
Mateichenko, meanwhile, continues to build upon his program-record assist total. The pair of apples in Friday's win brings his career total up to 77 after becoming Manhattanville's all-time leader last weekend.
The Valiants added to the lead 7:56 into the second after Elijah Devereaux scored his third of the season. Michael Locke was credited with the assist on the tally for the freshman's first collegiate point.
Manhattanville would ultimately need all three goals as Nazareth rallied in the third period. After stopping the first 33 shots he faced in the game, William Billequey was finally beaten by the Golden Flyers 54 seconds into the frame as Logan Tobias finished off a sequence from Nate Mann and Blake Frost. It would be Frost and Tobias paying dividends again for the home team at the 9:42 mark as Frost cut the Valiant lead down to a lone goal.
Billequey would survive the storm by turning away all ten of Nazareth's final shots on net, including a crucial four during a Nazareth power play late in the third. In all, the sophomore tender finished with 49 saves to earn his fifth win of the season.
In addition to his game-winning tally, Devereaux was one of three Valiants to win a team-high seven faceoffs alongside Ryan McKenna and Lane Paddison.
A fairly clean game, just three penalties were assessed in the contest. The Valiants capitalized on their lone man-advantage, firing three shots on the power play and scoring with two ticks left on the Naz penalty. The Golden Flyers were unable to find the same success, finishing 0-for-2 with 10 shots on net during their power plays.
Up Next
The teams will close out the series tomorrow at 2 p.m.