By Nick Kurti
Staff Writer
The College’s D1 club hockey team took it until the very end with a 5-4 win over William Paterson on Friday, Oct. 3. The club, featuring seven freshmen in their first year on the ice as a Lion, was able to hold an older and more experienced Pioneers from taking the lead for nearly all three periods.
On their home rink at the Ice Vault in Wayne, New Jersey, William Paterson was the first team on the board, taking a 1-0 lead from a goal by Jason Lastra. But just two minutes later, Colin Helkowski would get into scoring position off a breakaway. He passed the puck back to Josh Kushnir, whose shot was saved by Pioneers goaltender Frankie Smith. The puck came loose to Kyle Gregory, who sent it into the net to tie up the game. This, alongside a 4-on-3 goal by Ryan Walter, gave the College its first lead of the game to end the first period.
The game was much of the same style of play for the second period, albeit with fewer minutes spent in the penalty box. The first period saw eight penalties assessed as the Pioneers and Lions wrestled with the close game and contentious calls. On the defensive end, freshman goalie Christian Esposito had 30 saves, marking a save percentage of .882 for the Lions.
Halfway through the second period, Alec Osher would tie the game for the Pioneers at 2-2. Later in the period, Zach Duggan got the puck in front of the crease to EJ Gleie. It was a scramble between the William Paterson players, but the puck came loose behind Smith and Gleie had helped the lead extend to 3-2. The Pioneers would score on the power play to tie it 3-3, but Walter had yet another beautiful slapshot from the blue line to end the second period up 4-3.
In the third period, the Lions and Pioneers accumulated another seven penalties, racking up the aggression as both teams were desperate to walk away with the win. After five minutes of play, the College was back on penalty kill duty after Alex Gibson took a minor. It was here that Lastra scored a power play goal to get the Pioneers tied up 4-4. The next ten minutes were heavily contested until, with just four and a half minutes left on the clock, the Lions had a chance.
The puck came loose and Duggan found it. He made a quick pass to Gibson, who went for the initial shot. There was another scramble in front of the crease as Kushnir added another shot. Duggan wrestled with defenders in front of the goalie, and his stick flicked the puck in between the pipes as he fell over. The crowd erupted, and the Pioneers already looked defeated, as the Lions were back up 5-4. This is where the American Collegiate Hockey Association matchup would end, marking a massive improvement over their season the year prior, where the Lions found themselves unable to beat the Pioneers across all three matchups.
On Saturday, Oct. 4, the Pioneers traveled to the Lions’ home at the Tsai Field House in Lawrenceville, where William Paterson won 3-0.
The Lions will be home again at the Tsai Field House to take on Drexel University on Friday, Oct. 10. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
