New York, NY -- Only one more game stands between the NYU ice hockey team and a berth in this season's playoffs.
They already own the best record in NYU ice hockey. Now, with a win over Pace University on Friday night at Chelsea Piers, this edition would become the first ever in the history of NYU ice hockey to reach the playoffs.
The Violets still have four games remaining this regular season. One more loss for the Columbia Lions club team would also push the Violets into the playoffs. The Violets drastically reduced Columbia's chances of catching them in the standings by recording two lopsided victories over SUNY-Maritime this past weekend. Maritime, new-comers to the Metropolitan Collegiate Hockey Conference (MCHC), proved to be no match for NYU.
As in any sports league, new teams often find themselves fulfilling the role of division doormat. SUNY-Maritime, with a record of 0-11-1 this season, has proved to be no exception.
Against Maritime, NYU posted a two-game total of 29 goals, compared to Maritime's three.
Friday night's game, played at Chelsea Piers, came to an abrupt end six seconds into the third period when Tony Gugglietti scored to give the Violets an 11-1 lead. The ten-goal advantage forced the referees to invoke the "mercy rule." In the MCHC, if a team is ahead by ten goals or more at any time after the second period, the referees kindly put an end to the contest to avoid embarassment.
On Saturday evening, the Violets went home early again, this time not even needing the third period to mercy Maritime. At the end of two complete periods, the Violets held an insurmountable 18-2 advantage. Tim Trevithan was the high scorer for NYU in Saturday's contest. He recorded a hat trick and four assists, a total of seven points.
Despite the convincing wins, the Violet players are remaining calm. They are right where they expected to be, so their success comes as no surprise. Head coach Steven Brown has stepped up the intensity of the Violet practices, as NYU looks to get past probable first round opponent SUNY-New Paltz.
If they can do that, they will likely face either Rutgers or Marist in the later rounds of the playoffs. Rutgers is top-ranked, and Marist is ranked second in the American Collegiate Hockey Association's Division II.
NYU meets up with Maritime once more this season, next Saturday evening. If the team can't defeat Pace this Friday night, a team NYU would be able to clinch a berth simply by defeating Maritime again.
Slap shots- Violet defenseman James Lee may be out for the remainder of the season with an ankle injury...several Violets notched their first points of the season this past weekend in the blowout victories. Among them were defenseman Sharif Abdul-Taleth and forwards Paul Santos and Pavel Shmuskis.