New York, NY -- The NYU men's ice hockey team lost its fourth game of the season Sunday night when the Penn State University Ice Lions defeated the Violets 6-4 at Chelsea Piers Sky Rink.
Following an 8-5 victory over Robert Morris College the previous night, the Violets were outplayed by the Ice Lions.
"I don't know what to say," senior Captain Ryan Hughes said. "They scored more goals than us and no matter what we do, that's the bottom line."
Shortly into the first period, Penn State scored its first goal, and NYU followed just over a minute later with its own goal. Penn State quickly scored again and regained the lead.
The rest of the period was marked by strong defense and strategic play by both teams. There were a lot of passing plays and offensive efforts by both the Lions and the Violets.
During a five-on-three power play in favor of Penn State, the Lions were able to rush past the weakened NYU defense and score its third and final goal of the period. THe period ended with NYU trailing by two.
"We didn't start right," freshman goalie Steele Filipek said of the first period. "We got to work the puck better, got to get faster out there, and we got to step it up out there."
Penn State scored its fourth goal 16 seconds into the second period. By taking more shots on goal, the Violets showed stronger play on offense and stopped more Penn State plays than in the first period.
Following a fifth goal by Penn State, NYU had an offensive surge and followed with two back-to-back goals less than a minute apart, cutting Penn State's lead back to two.
In the third period, the Violets kept Penn State from scoring until the closing minutes of the period and quickly followed up with a goal of their own. Despite the boost, the Violets could not overcome Penn State's early lead and lost 6-4.
"The guys played hard," Coach Lloyd Polanish said. "Unfortunately, we got down early and although we did come back, we couldn't overtake them. We need to work on defense."
"We simply didn't show up to play," junior Daniel Nemchek said, referring to the team's weaknesses early in the game. "We just need to get better."
The team's season record stands at 9-4-1. The Violets' next game is against the University of Denver at the IUP Jamboree in Indiana, Pennsylvania. The Violets will be on a seven-game roat trip until Jan. 24, when they return to play against Temple University.