New York, NY -- After alternating between wins and losses for the season's first seven games, the men's hockey team finally started a winning streak, edging Western Connecticut State University, 7-5, and the University of New Hampshire, 3-2, on back-to-back nights last weekend at Chelsea Piers.
"We're not going to go far [this year] if we don't win consecutivel," said senior captain Mason Donley, who had two assists in last night's game.
Moments after he failed to corral a pass on a two-on-one break, freshman Josh Anderson found the puck on his stick, skated to the slot and sent a wrist shot high over Connecticut goaltender Steve Grota's glove for the game-winning point with just over five minutes left in the game. A few minutes later, senior Matt Weindel capped off the offensive evening with his fourth goal of the night, and team leading ninth goal of the year, perserving the Violets' third lead.
Anderson and Weindel, along with linemate Tom D'Agostino, a junior, have set off round after round of offensive fireworks this season, and Connecticut's defense joined a long list of units that have failed to weaken their chemistry.
"Each guy on our line has a different job," Anderson said. "I grind it out in the corner, Matt snipes the goals and Tom does [both]. Everything works out fine."
Last night it worked out to the tune of six goals and eight assists.
Though that trio leads the Violets in scoring and continually mashes defenses apart, it may not be able to carry the team against more formidable opponents later in the season. Head Coach Lloyd Polanish showed that he might start experimenting with different player combinations in order to bring some balance to the score sheet. He bumped freshman Hugo Goodwin up to the second line for a few shifts late in the game, and Goodwin responded with his first goal of the season.
"Sometimes it's just a case of chemistry," Goodwin said. "Everyone on the team is playing hard. But with a lot of new guys on the team it's important to see who works well together."
While NYU's offense didn't have too many problems, the defense had a rough time keeping leads, a problem it has had all season, and junior goaltender Brian Kenney was not the stone wall he usually is in the net. And so, the game remained close against an opponent players said they should have beaten by more goals.
"We have to get away from doing barely what it takes to beat these teams," Donley said.
The Violets also eked out their win on Saturday night against New Hampshire, as sophomore defenseman Mike Martin's third-period goal put NYU ahead for good. D'Agostino and senior Artem Agafonov scored goals in the first period.
The Violets, now 5-3 this season, will have the luxury of trying to extend their winning streak on their home ice. They play their next two games at Chelsea Piers, where they are 3-1. They next face the College of the Holy Cross. The two teams met on Oct. 23, with the Violets losing 3-2. NYU will get another try this Friday at 8:30pm.