Wagner College prevails in battle of the Ice Hawks
By Danny Wild, Contributing Writer
The New Paltz-Wagner College rematch from last year's Metropolitan Collegiate Hockey Conference playoffs figured to be the sequel to a bitter rivalry Wednesday night between the two teams at the McCann Ice Arena at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center. An extremely hard fought and physical game to the last whistle was no surprise, yet the Ice Hawks had to be disappointed in the final score, a 9-3 loss to the Wagner Seahawks.
New Paltz (1-1), coming off their 4-1 victory against Fordham, exploded out of the gate and dominated play for the majority of the first period in their home opener. With a decent size crowd on hand and the music rocking the arena, the Ice Hawks looked to make an early impression on their rivals who knocked them out of last year's playoffs, the reigning MCHC Conference Champions.
A fast-paced and emotional game throughout, the Ice Hawks began the match winning face-offs and playing an incredibly exciting "open hockey" style of play. Senior goalie Frank Rapisardi was on early and playing strong, turning away all 19 shots in the first as the Hawks jumped out to 1-0 lead on a Richard McQueen goal with 2:33 remaining.
The Hawks then seemed to tire, playing with a much lower level of energy and speed, losing face-offs and allowing seven unanswered goals while not scoring again until the late third period.
The second period was the beginning of the end for New Paltz as they only registered two shots in 20 minutes. The Seahawks (3-0), however, didn't lose a step and absolutely pounded Rapisardi with shots from every angle. The second period was played in the New Paltz zone for the majority of the time as one of the Hawks' biggest problems became apparent: their inability to clear the zone.
Wagner won the opening face-off in the second and promptly scored 17 seconds in, tying the game at 1-1 on a nice deflection in front by Seahawks captain Louis Weber. This also became a problem for the Ice Hawks, as Wagner was able to stay in the offensive zone while also keeping a man in front of the net, screening Rapisardi and eventually resulting in a slew of goals.
Wagner scored their second of the game at 17:47, a bad-luck goal that went off McQueen's skate in front. In less than 40 seconds, Wagner would again score, this time bouncing a shot off of a New Paltz defenseman's skate. The Seahawk's John Conevery would then score the first of his three goals on the night, lighting the lamp twice in two minutes. Finally after a Wagner power-play goal that made the score 6-1, New Paltz coach Lance Edelman called a timeout in an effort to slow things down and let his team regroup.
A predictable retaliation penalty by Wagner's alternate captain John Gogarty, who was heckled by fans constantly all night, gave New Paltz the opportunity to change the momentum. The roughing penalty at 10:19, which was just the beginning of a game-long physical battle, went to waste as New Paltz could not set up whatsoever in the Seahawks' zone. Chris Princiotta had a great chance on a 3-on-2, yet there was no one in front of the net for the ensuing rebound. Wagner then took another penalty, setting up a 5-on-3 advantage for New Paltz for 20 seconds, which resulted in only one shot on goal.
A huge slap shot from the top of the left circle by the Seahawks' Bill Williamson made the score 7-1 at 5:40. Williamson then scored 40 seconds later on a breakaway, resulting in Rapisardi's departure in favor of backup goaltender Michael Bickford, who played a very strong game in relief of the fatigued Rapisardi.
With 4:16 left in the second, the frustration of New Paltz spilled out as all the players on the ice engaged in a full-scale brawl in front of the Wagner net. Although this would not be the end to the fighting, the scuffle seemed to re-energize the deflated Hawks for the third period.
With Bickford starting the third in the net, New Paltz defenseman Dan Smith made a terrific defensive play to break up a Wagner rush. Although the momentum seemed to have changed to favor New Paltz in the third, they could not stop Conevery as he completed his hat trick on a thrilling breakaway goal at 16:32.
"It's just sloppy play," said Josh Seery, a frustrated but still optimistic New Paltz student and Ice Hawks fan in attendance. The fans continued to support the talented yet reeling hawks despite the fact that they were down by as many as eight goals at one point during the game.
"Their intensity was really incredible, the crowd was really into the game which must be a big lift for them," Seery added.
Another big fight got the New Paltz fans riled up, propelling the Hawks to finally answer back and cut the lead to 9-2.
Marc Carpenter, who played an outstanding game for the Ice Hawks, scored on a rebound in the slot at 14:38. McQueen had a breakaway stopped late in the third, but was able to later assist on Princiotta's goal with 3:22 remaining. Too little, too late from the frustrated Hawks as the game ended 9-3.
With a great balance of scoring and tight defense, Wagner will remain one of the toughest teams to beat in the conference; they have scored a combined 33 goals in just three games this year.
New Paltz was unable to establish any sort of setup in the offensive zone, even on power plays. Even with the puck in deep, there was hardly ever a Hawk to be found positioned in front of the crease.
New Paltz looks to rebound with two games against C.W. Post on Oct. 30 at home, and Nov. 2 in Long Beach.
With Edelman's sights still set on a MCHC Championship, the Hawks will need to shake off this bitter defeat and continue to play the physical, fast and high-scoring game they are capable of playing.
