New York, NY -- The NYU ice hockey team pulled no punches this weekend as they rung up back-to-back victories - and bruises - over Montclair State University Friday and Lehigh University Sunday in two games marked by intense fighting.
In Friday's game, a 6-1 NYU win, aggressive play on the ice and heavy heckling from the fans led to the evacuation of all spectators from the rink. According to team manager Melanie Capiccioni, Violet captain Dan Nemchek was charged with assault for his role in fighting that occurred after the second period. Hockey team members refused to speak in detail about the charges after the game.
On Sunday, NYU came onto the ice strong against the tough Lehigh Mountain Hawks. The first period was marked by checking and power plays bouncing back and forth. Neither side was willing to lose any ground, and a little less than ten minutes into the period, junior Justin McDermott scored NYU's first goal, but certainly not its last. After the second goal, emotions got out of hand.
Lehigh players, visibly frustrated by the turn of momentum in NYU's favor, became increasingly aggressive. Punches were thrown by players, including NYU freshman goalie Brian Kenney.
Despite the growing tension on both sides of the ice, NYU ended the period with a third goal. Play became even more heated in the second period.
Fights erupted back and forth throughout the period, and more than a few fans noted that more time was spent sorting out the battles between players than there was actually playing hockey. One fight led to the ejection of NYU freshman Kristopher Marsh.
"I'm going to accept whatever the refs decide," Marsh said of the action. "However, we're showing other teams that if they touch our goalie, they die. We're not going to take [cheap shots] from other teams."
Even Kenney was willing to get into the fray once Lehigh players seemed intent on fighting the goalie.
"I work out, so I'm like half steel," Kenney said. "I'm ready to mix it up if that's what it comes to."
NYU continued its offensive and defensive push through the fighting, scoring three more goals in the period, including two within a minute.
The third period, by comparison, was more subdued. Although fights occurred, they were few and far between. The referees regained control of the game and blew the whistle before many of the fights could even get started.
NYU scored its last goal, thanks to freshman forward Tom D'Agostino, ten minutes into the period. With ten minutes to go and NYU up by seven, Lehigh made a last ditch offensive effort. But even two Lehigh goals in 22 seconds could not save the team, and the game finally drew to an end with NYU on top, 7-2.
Players were torn about the game, with some concentrating on the fighting and others happy about NYU's third consecutive stellar performance.
"I hate that team," Nemchek said of Lehigh. "I hate their jerseys, I hate their college, I hate their team. But as a team I thought we played great."
Junior forward Drew DeWitt tried to downplay the team's intensity.
"We played cooler than the other side of the pillow," DeWitt said, sporting a cut on his chin and a bloody uniform.
Friday night's game against Montclair State University was equally one-sided and violent. Although NYU won the game with a convincing 6-1 victory, the highlight of the night for some was the taunting behavior of Montclair fans off the ice.
Head Coach Lloyd Polanish, less pleased with his team's pugilistic response, admitted the players improved as far as performance.
"We're tuning up. We're preparing for some big games," he said. "We're preparing for the Siennas and the Westfields, teams that are going to be our real competitors."