New York, NY -- The NYU men's ice hoceky team ended its 11-game winning streak with Friday's 4-2 loss against Penn State University, but began anew with a stunning 7-4 victory over Siena College.
The Violets opened Sunday night's game against Siena College with a quick goal only three minutes into the period. Despite the defense's efforts, however, Siena was able to respond and knot the score at 1-1 only a minute later.
After the goal, NYU's defense tightened its hold on Siena, keeping the puck out of the zone and allowing the offense to make numerous runs on Siena's net.
In what can be described as a one-two-three punch during pressure in Siena's zone, NYU shot, shot and shot again, attacking rebounds and pulling Siena goalie senior Matt Dominelli out of the net, and Junior defenseman Scott Zimmerman slipped the puck past him to regain the lead for NYU.
Play calmed down from there until a 4-on-3 Siena power-play goal with two minutes left in the opening period.
However, in another strong offensive push, NYU created a deficit that Siena wasn't able to overcome. Team captain Dan Nemchek and assistant captain John Giardino both scored goals in the last minute of play, less than five seconds apart.
The Violets' penalty kill uniot took over in the second period, fending off a flurry of Siena power plays.
Siena kicked off the final period with a slap shot goal, but NYU's defense became stronger than ever. With help from a Tom D'Agostino mid-period goal, NYU extended its lead and cruised to a 7-4 win.
Friday's game agains the Penn State University Ice Lions gave the Violets a chance for revenge. Penn State, the only team to have beaten NYU this season, had the Violets' number again. Both Head Coach Lloyd Polanish and his players had hopes of defeating Penn State to establish NYU's place among the top-ranked teams.
Friday's game started as auspiciously as Sunday's game did, with NYU scoring the first goal of the game. However, two first-period goals by the Ice Lions trapped the Violets in a game of catch-up.
"We were out of shape," Nemchek said. "Vacation was bad for us, and we didn't get to practice together."
While Penn State worked their power plays with ruthless efficiency, the Violets seemed to constantly be a step behind the Ice LIons' penalty-killing squad.
In the end, Penn State emerged victorious.
"In colloquial terms, this game as whack," NYU goalie Joshua Rosenthal said.
But with Sunday's win over Siena, the team once again feels the momentum on their side.
"Last game, we felt we cheated [the crowd]," Nemchek said. "I like howe we bounced back. Our goalies had a great game, and the third line played an awesome game. This is what defines a winner in my opinion."
"We just need to keep doing the same thing we did tonight and start putting some wins together," Polanish said.
The team's next home game is on Friday, February 6, against Montclair State University.