The Red Hawks take the ice during warm-up.
Photo via @MONTCLAIRHOCKEY twitter.
Montclair State’s Club Men’s Ice Hockey team earned a homecoming weekend victory as they beat Monmouth University 6-2 on Oct. 22. With another win under their belt, the Red Hawks have earned 13 points this season and hold a 5-2-1-2 record.
Captain Sam Enright expressed his feelings on what playing on homecoming weekend meant for him and the team.
“Homecoming is a big part of this school and a lot of alumni come out. It’s a lot of fun when everyone comes back,” Enright said. “It’s just got a good feeling. And now that we have an early game on homecoming day and everyone has time to get ready [and] go back out as a team, it’s always fun to be together.”
The puck dropped a little after noon and Monmouth and Montclair State battled to score the first goal of the game. Forward Michael Buckel scored the Red Hawks’ first goal 10 minutes into the game to take a 1-0 lead. With a little over a minute left in play, Monmouth earned a crosschecking penalty. The Red Hawks received a power play and, with exactly 59 seconds left, captain Chris Preziosi scored, increasing the Red Hawks’ lead to 2-0.
As the second period began, Montclair State defenseman Colton Shan quickly increased the lead to 3-0. About four minutes later, Preziosi scored his second goal, which put the Red Hawks up by 4. The Red Hawks’ penalty kill halted two consecutive Monmouth powerplays. The Red Hawks responded with a goal to increase the score to 5-0.
Monmouth eventually beat Montclair State goaltender Jordan Stack twice to make the score 5-2.
Approximately five minutes into the third period, Montclair State earned a tripping penalty and Stack was forced to make some key saves. Stack remained strong throughout the game and was able to demonstrate his quick goaltending skills.
One of Monmouth’s was ejected and the team was given a 10 minute misconduct penalty.
The Red Hawks stopped Monmouth’s momentum and took advantage as Matt Cofrancesco scored the final goal of the game, pushing the score to 6-2. Montclair State’s next game is at home against Bryant University on Oct. 29.
