New York, NY -- The men's hockey team netted two thrilling and crucial home-wins this weekend, squeaking by Pennsylvania State University 5-4 on Friday and College of the Holy Cross 6-5 on Saturday at the Chelsea Piers Sky Rink.
While the team is still not sure of where it will end up in terms of postseason play, the weekend games were both must-wins if the plan on qualifying for the American Collegiate Hockey Association's national tournament, senior captain Scott Zimmerman said.
"We knew they would be tough games but ones that we needed to win," Zimmerman said.
Penn State is ranked No. 2 and Holy Crosas No. 7 in the ACHA's northeastern rankings.
Each victory came in the last minute, as NYU was able to score winning goals with 35 and 34 seconds remaining, respectively.
In the Penn State game, senior Matt Weindel was able to score the head goal. The assist came from senior Drew DeWitt, who had a goal and two assists in the victory.
Another key contributor in the victory was senior captain John Giardino, who scored two third-period goals to help lift the Violets out of deficit.
The Violets led at the end of the first period 1-0, but were outscored 3-1 in the second.
During the break between the second and third periods, Violet emotions ran high.
"I was a little bit worried being down a goal to a good Penn State team," Zimmerman said. "But we just looked around, and we all knew what we had to do."
Zimmerman also attributed the team's stirring comeback to the passionate words of Assistant Coach Matt Archer.
"Matt Archer told us, 'If anyone right now doesn't believe that we can win, then don't even go back out there,'" Zimmerman said.
The Violets did believe, and an exciting third period was about to begin.
Giardino opened the period with two scores, and it looked like the Violets had captured all of the momentum. But five minutes later, Penn State answered with a game-tying goal. With time running out, it took Weindel's improbable last-minute goal to ensure and NYU victory.
A day later, the Violets were back on the ice in another nail-biter. In a game marred by penalties, Giardino was again involved in late-game heroics. In a 5-5 match, with less than a minute remaining, Giardino was able to get the puck past Holy Cross goaltender Peter Bartline for the win.
The two wins set up an important game this Friday against Central Connecticut State University. The outcome of the game could decide whether the Violets will be on their way to the Nationals in Oakland, MI, Zimmerman said.