The Red Hawks take the ice during warm-up.
Photo via @MONTCLAIRHOCKEY twitter.
The Men’s Hockey Team aggressively defeated Central Connecticut State University 7-2 on Saturday, Oct. 15. The Red Hawks have earned a total 11 points so far this season, competing in the Northeast Region of the Division II American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA).The ACHA is packed with excitement and competitiveness as the Red Hawks hold a current record of 5-2-1-2 (5 wins, 2 losses, 1 tie, and 2 overtime losses).
The puck dropped at 9:36pm Saturday, and the 1st period harnessed quite a few penalties from both teams, but good communication skills soon overtook the Red Hawks as the team scored 11 minutes into the first period. The goal was credited to left wing, Derek Sabato. Tension built but the Red Hawks managed to end the period 2-1 with the second goal from left winger, Samuel Enright.
Number 28, Enright, is one of the two captains on the team. Both Enright and Chris Preziosi, the other captain, show great leadership qualities on the ice. Wearing number 12, Preziosi expressed that the team is doing much better this year as they continue to grow with experience. “We are definitely doing better than last year,” Preziosi said, “we had a lot of freshmen last year, so this year they are sophomores and have a year of experience under their belt.” The captian was also credited with 2 goals in the game.
As the 2nd period was underway, the Red Hawks came out strong and quickly scored two goals. Forwards Matt Hazuda and Sal Demarzo, both put the puck in the back of the net thanks to assists from number 24, Mark Powell. Central Connecticut began to show their physical side, but the Red Hawks gave it right back. That wouldn’t go overlooked however as Montclair was hit with a 10-minute misconduct. With a man down and penalties in between, the Red Hawks still managed to score another goal improving the score to 5-1, thanks to Preziosi.
The Red Hawks showed strong defensive skills and solid goaltending throughout the game. Not only did goalie Trevor Tironi show off his strong blocking skills, but he was also almost credited with an assist on a long pass to Preziosi. Tironi believes that it is important to focus on your own game and skill. “No matter who you play its always going to be a tough game,” Tironi said. “You just got to come out and play your game and worry about what you have to do instead of worrying about the other team,”
The 3rd period soon became physical but only two minutes in, Montclair State’s own Evan Calendrillo scored, taking a dominating lead of 6-1. Goalie Tironi, carried the team, making saves and rapidly using his glove hand to keep the puck out of the net. Central Connecticut showed their physical side but was penalized with a 5 minute game misconduct resulting in an ejection.
Before the misconduct penalty, both teams remained chippy, determined to protect their own. Central Connecticut scored with 13 minutes left, but soon after, Preziosi found the net again with a short-handed goal to put the game away with a final score of 7-2, earning another Red Hawk victory.
The team took the ice again today, Oct. 22 against Monmouth University at noon, in celebration of homecoming weekend. Defensemen Kevin Brown expressed his feelings about next today’s game. “We played them earlier in the season for a scrimmage and the game went pretty well,” Brown said. “They had a split squad so there was about 30 guys out there. Simple hockey, stick to the systems, get pucks in the net and we should be fine.”
As the team prepared for Monmouth University, Head Coach Rob Martinez added his opinion on the team. “We are a very very young team, we are doing much better than we were last year, especially at this point in the season,” Martinez said. “We are starting to develop and learn, but again we’re mostly made up of freshman and sophomores. We have a lot of growing to do, but I do think we are headed in the right direction.” The team walked away victorious, with a score of 6-2 over Monmouth.
