New York, NY -- NYU's ice hockey team captured their first league championship in team history just a week before it hosts the national championships.
The Violets beat Montclair State University (MSU) and Siena College at the Super East Collegiate Ice Hockey League (SECHL) Conference Championships this weekend, improving their overall season record to 22-1-3.
On Saturday, after receiving a bye for the first round of the playoffs, NYU came out slightly sluggish against MSU and fell behind 2-1 at the end of the first period.
""We should have crushed them but we weren't playing at our full potential,"" freshman Drew DeWitt said.
NYU previously beat MSU twice this season, 6-2 and 8-0.
""We basically kept them in the game,"" co-Captain Ryan Hughes said. ""It wasn't like they were doing anything special, we just couldn't finish them off.""
DeWitt provided an alternate reason for victory.
""We won because we are superior,"" DeWitt said facetiously. ""Because of our boyish good looks and chiseled features.""
Although NYU outshot MSU 55-16, they had trouble putting the puck away.
""You'd get a shot off, and they'd all collapse down low for the rebound,"" Hughes said. ""So when we would get a shot, they would just ice the puck down. I just think our shots were too much from the perimeter. We weren't getting too much penetration into the scoring area.""
Dental student Jay Lee, the starting goalie, was pulled in the second period, and junior Brenden Hursh replaced him to finish off the game.
""Coach put Brendan in to get the team as a whole to play better, and it worked,"" Hughes said. ""It was more of a wake-up for us, and it kind of got our heads in the game.""
It seemed to work. NYU stepped up its offense in the second and third periods, doubling the number of shots they took. In the second period, NYU pulled ahead with two successive goals from Michael Tanella and Bryan Friedman to bring them to the final score of 4-3.
That win brought them to Sunday's championship game against Siena, who tied the Violets in two previous matchups this season, both games going into overtime.
Siena pulled out to a quick 2-0 lead in what the Violets described as a slow start for their team.
NYU outshot Siena 38-21 in a rough game that Hughes said he is still sore from.
""We were down after the first period and the Siena kids were talking a lot of junk,"" Hughes said. ""We just ignored them, pulled it together, stuck it to them and got the last laugh.""
The game was especially sweet for DeWitt, whose brother, Ewan, plays for Siena.
""Luckily, I neutralized my brother's threat to the team,"" DeWitt said.
A hat trick from freshman John Giardino jump-started the Violet offense in the second period. Mark Branden, Bryan Schleppy and Nick Miro added three more unanswered power play goals to bring the final score to 6-2.
""It's one game, 60 minutes, you never know who's going to win,"" Hughes said. But he added, ""It doesn't matter if you win by five or if you win by one, you still win.""
The team came in, as usual, with defense on the mind. Co-Captain Ben Maniere kept the defense strong, Hughes said.
""Siena's never a guaranteed victory,"" Hughes said. ""We know we're a better team overall. It comes down to who plays harder, who wants it more. It's playoff hockey. Anything can happen.""
""We showed a lot of heart,"" DeWitt said. ""As [our teammate] Vinny Bruce says, the body manifests what the mind harbors.""
The SECHL, a Division II club league in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), is composed of seven teams in the Tri-State area. The ACHA is a nation-wide club league with over 180 teams from all four divisions of collegiate play. For four of the past five years, Life University has won the ACHA championships, and this year it handed the Violets their only loss, 9-4.
The Violets host the ACHA championships this year at the Sky Rink, kicking off their tournament against San Jose State University on Feb. 27. Passes for the entire weekend cost $20 but are free to NYU students and can be purchased at Coles Sports Center.