New York, NY -- The ice hockey team was handed its first loss of the season Friday against the University of Rochester, 6-2, but rebounded the next night at home with a 12-2 victory over Temple University. The Violets are now 7-1 and ranked fifth in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (Div. II) Northeast Region.
Rochester took control early, as sophomore goaltender Chad Ehrenkranz had to face 13 shots in the first period while the Violets only managed four. FOr the game, NYU was outshot 38-22.
"Chad's play was outstanding and kept us in the game," said head coach Stephen Hetherman.
Nevertheless, the Yellow Jackets got on the scoreboard late in the period. With NYU unable to clear the puck out of their zone, Ehrenkranz was forsed to leave his goal crease, which allowed Rochester's Rob Strickler to tap the puck into an empty net. The Violets responded wuickly, as freshman forward Mark Branden received a pass from sophomore forward Todd Portadin and slipped a shot past the Rochester goaltender just 11 seconds later.
But the Yellow Jackets regained the lead midway through the second period, and NYU never recovered. The third period was characterized by a large number of penalties handed out to the Violets, as NYU was shorthanded seven times while Rochester wasn't whistled once.
"Although penalties continut to hurt our team play, U of R's goals were created by our lack of execution," Hetherman said. "We had posession of the puck but failed to execute."
With that combination working against them, the Violets wqere unable to control the Yellow Jackets and soon fell behind 5-1. Then, sophomore forward Dan Perry scored his fifty shorthanded goal of the season off a pass from sophomore defenseman Vincent Bruce and sophomore forward Bryan Friedman, cutting the deficit to three. But the Yellow Jackets soon restored their four-goal advantage.
"Vinnie Bruce was the biggest force on the ice for us," Hetherman said. "We need every player to come to the game with Vinnie's and Chad's work ethic and commitment to winning."
He got that the next night, as the Violets picked up a decisive victory over Temple. However, penalties continued to be called on the Violets as Perry was sent to the box during the first minute and a half for interference. For the game, NYU racked up 70 penalty minutes, which didn't sit well with Hetherman.
"The officiating is suspect for the collegiate level of play," he said. "Inconsistent officiating leads to frustration, specifically, frustrated players."
Temple capitilized on the Perry penalty, as Kevin Brinker slid the puck past freshman goaltender Zach Ciperski. It marked the only time the Owls had the lead over the Violets for the rest of the game.
Less than three minutes later, NYU evened the score as senior defenseman Kirk Shimizuishi blasetd home a feed from freshman forward Bryan Schleppy. They scored four more goals in the period, and carried a 5-2 lead into the intermission. In the second, the Violets added four goals to their total. Friedman scored on a five-on-three power play, and added another during a four-on-four, banking in a pass from graduate forward Ted Heintz. "Bryan Friedman was outstanding against Temple," Hetherman said. "His two-way play was exceptional."
Junior forward Prentiss Noyes and Portadin also scored power play goals in the second. The Violets closed out the scoring in the third, with goals from Portadin, freshman forward Ben Maniere, and junior forward Jesse Belcher-Timme.
And between the pipes, Ciperski was solid, allowing only two goals on 38 shots. He wqas also helped by the defense of Bruce, Shimizuishi, and freshmen Ryan Hughes and Josh Fisher, who stood tall and provided a physical presence at the blue line. "I think the Rochester game was a wake-up call," Hetherman said. "The guys played with determination and grit [against Temple] and that was the difference. They did not wait for things to happen - they played within the systems and made things happen."
NYU's next game will be held against Fordham on Saturday, Nov. 13 at Chelsea Piers. Game time is 7:30pm.