Daniel Tokarz (16) fights for the puck in a faceoff against Army.
Ben Caplan | The Montclarion
This past homecoming weekend, Friday, Oct. 13 and Saturday, Oct. 14, the Montclair State University men’s club ice hockey team suffered a loss against Army West Point United States Military Academy but then claimed their first win of the season against Monmouth University.
On Friday at 8:40 p.m. the puck dropped at Floyd Hall against Army to begin the first period. Both teams played a pretty evenly battled game in the first period, which left the game tied with no goals scored. Toward the end of the period (19:06), Montclair State’s forward Shawn Meneghin received a two-minute tripping minor to end the first period.
As the second period was underway, it seemed like anyone’s game. However, Army managed to put pressure on Montclair State’s defense and put one past starting goaltender, John Pitera, at the 8:42 mark which updated the score 1-0 in favor of Army. About seven minutes later, Montclair defenseman, Dan Diner, was penalized with a two-minute tripping minor (15:47) which put a close to the second period.
Period three was definitely the most action packed. The period started off when Army suffered from a two-minute hooking minor (3:15) and soon after at the 4:42 mark, Red Hawks’ forward Daniel Tokarz scored off of a pass from Meneghin which set the score to 1-1.
Montclair State celebrates after scoring in the third period.
Ben Caplan | The Montclarion
A little under five minutes later, left winger captain Sam Enright took it upon himself and scored an unassisted goal at the 8:51 mark. Defenseman Michael Nordstrom was then penalized with a two-minute kneeing minor (9:22), but Army did not score. With Montclair State up by one goal, forward Michael Buckel then put one past Army’s goaltender making the score 3-1. Unfortunately, Pitera then received a two-minute unsportsmanlike misconduct penalty (12:33) and Army took advantage and scored another goal at the 12:39 mark, making the score 3-2.
After Army’s goal and a few more exchanged penalties, Army also scored two more goals (16:55 and 17:45) in the third period to end the game with a final score of 4-3. There was a recorded 55 shots on goal against Montclair State and only 29 against Army.
The next day, Montclair State suited up against Monmouth University at 11:40 a.m. in honor of homecoming weekend. Once the puck dropped to begin the first period, Buckel scored the first goal of the game assisted by Meneghin and center Justin Ritter (4:53). About a minute later, Enright was penalized with a two-minute crosschecking minor (5:27), but that did not set the Red Hawks back. Forward Evan Calendrillo received a pass from Ritter at the 6:01 m which put Montclair up on the scoreboard 2-0. With penalties in between, Enright also scored again (11:35) thanks to passes from Ritter and Diner.
About six minutes after Enright’s goal, Monmouth snuck one past starting goaltender Nicola De Marzo (17:37) updating the score 3-1. The first period did not end after Monmouth’s first goal. Buckel scored yet again at the 19:43 mark assisted by defenseman Thomas Vander Vliet concluding the first period with Montclair State up 4-1.
With an action-packed first period, Monmouth struggled starting out the second period and received a two-minute tripping minor (1:34). Montclair State began dominating the second period and scored goal after goal. The first goal was credited to Enright with an assist from Buckel at the 3:52 mark.
About four minutes later, Buckel received his first hat trick of the season by scoring another goal (7:08) with help from Ritter and Diner. Nearly seconds after the team’s celebration, Calendrillo insured the team another goal (7:44) and the Red Hawks became untouchable. With a few minor penalties swapped between teams, Calendrillo and defenseman Brandon Vander Vliet then passed the puck to Thomas Vander Vliet who scored at the 13:18 mark. Monmouth managed to score an unassisted goal in hopes of coming back (14:11). Right before the second period was about to end, Enright also received his first hat trick of the season (17:20) with an assist from center Matthew Dreisbach. The score at the end of the second period was 9-2.
With Montclair State having a huge advantage in the third period, they upped the score by another goal thanks to Buckel and nice passes from Meneghin and forward Kevin Brown (0:29). Monmouth was soon penalized with a two-minute interference minor (1:26) and received the same penalty nearly six minutes later (7:35). With Monmouth struggling to get past Montclair State’s defense, Enright managed to score yet again (9:18) thanks to an assist from Brandan Vander Vliet.
Not too soon after Enright’s fourth goal of the game, Red Hawk forward Mark Frade Jr. scored the last and final goal for the team at the 10:45 mark with a successful pass from defenseman Greg Matesic. With Montclair State owning a huge lead, Monmouth did manage to score two more goals before the game ended, but it wasn’t enough. The Montclair State men’s club ice hockey team was granted with their first win of the season with a score of 12-4 and a whopping 62 shots on goal compared to Monmouth’s 19 shots on goal.
The Red Hawks hope to improve their 1-5-0-0 record and face off against Central Connecticut State University on Friday, Oct. 20 at Floyd Hall Arena at 9 p.m. and against Rowan University on Saturday, Oct. 21 at the Hollydell Ice Arena at 8:15 p.m.
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