New York, NY -- The NYU men's ice hockey team lost 5-1 to Oakland University in the championship game of the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division II Tournament Saturday night, ending an otherwise successful season.
The championship game started auspiciously for NYU. The first period featured a lone Oakland goal, and both teams seemed to be playing equally well with only a small number of penalties. That all changed in the second period.
The Grizzlies ran circles around the Violets in the second stanza. Four Oakland players scored in the period, two of them on power plays. Meanwhile, NYU failed to capitalize on its power play.
Although the Violets got some of their momentum back in the last period, Oakland's tireless offense forced them into taking penalties and limited their scoring. The Grizzlies out-shot the oft-shorthanded Violets 49-25.
"They were a physical team," NYU goalie Brian Kenney said. "We never let up throughout our whole game, but they were strong."
Before the championship game, NYU defeated the University of Maryland 6-3, Utah State University 6-2, Davenport University 5-3, and Pennsylvania State University 1-0 in overtime.
The semi-final win over Penn State was especially significant for the Violets, who suffered two of their three regular-season losses to the Nittany Lions.
Both Kenney, a freshman, and Penn State goalie Dan Koletsky faced 39 shots on goal. Fortunately for the Violets, freshman Tom D'Agostino put shot number 39 in the net, giving NYU a dramatic overtime win.
"The Penn State game was the highlight of our year," senior captain Dan Nemchek said. "Any time you can get revenge against a team that has beaten you in the season like they have is great."
Despite the loss to Oakland University in the championship game, the Violets have plenty of reasons to be pleased. Not only are they second in the nation in their division, but they are also first in the Northeast. Furthermore, Kenney and junior Justin McDermott were named to the ACHA First Team. Kenney also received a similar honor at last month's Super East Conference Playoffs, and is shaping up to be the team's backbone.
"I just felt great the whole tournament," Kenney said. "I got into a zone during the first four games, and I just felt like nothing could get by me."
NYU's strong run in the ACHA National Tournament was indicative of their play all season.
"This year was a complete success," Head Coach Lloyd Polanish said. "The boys handled well all year. The team's got good chemistry and good players."
And with the end of the men's ice hockey season, both players and the coaching staff are already preparing for the year ahead. The departure of Dan Nemchek and Brian Gilmore, both significant players graduating this year, is on everyone's mind.
"Dan and Brian are exceptional leaders," Polanish said. "It will be hard to fill their positions, and a lot of this year's success is because of their leadership."
Nemchek is less worried about the team without him.
"I'm completely satisfied with my college hockey career," Nemchek said. "And I couldn't have played with a better group of kids. They don't need us anymore. They could replay the season without us and make it just as far. They're not going to rebuild next year after we're gone - they're going to reload."