Marist tops Ice Hawks in cross-river battle
By Trevor Kaftan, Sports Editor
Constant pressure was the factor that pushed Marist College to a big 5-0 win over the cross-river rival New Paltz Ice Hawks Friday night. The smaller Ice Hawks were beaten on both sides of the ice as the Red Foxes used a three-goal third period to pull away from the 8-2 Ice Hawks.
The Ice Hawks opened a two-game weekend with a match against the Red Foxes on both teams' home ice, the McCann Ice Arena at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center. The heavy-hitting and board-crashing checks set the tone for the game early, as both teams played very aggressively, sometimes choosing to make hits instead of playing actual defense in order to keep their respective crowds happy.
The Ice Hawks battled well against Marist, keeping up with the team through a period-and-a-half. "It was a well played game," said Ice Hawks Head Coach Lance Edelman. "Marist had a lot more depth then we did." The lack of depth showed in the game, with Ice Hawks skating and passing more and more sloppily as the game went on.
The Red Foxes were led by Dave Chamberlain, who tallied two goals for the (4-5) Red Foxes, including a rebound off of Ice Hawks' goalkeeper Frank Rapisardi. Rapisardi kept the Hawks close in the game, making numerous saves before the Red Foxes pulled away in the third.
The first period went by scoreless, as both teams' defenses were successful at keeping the other's offense from getting many scoring opportunities. The penalties started to rack up early as well, but both team's penalty killing efforts were successful, preventing both team's from scoring during the one-man advantages.
The aggressive play continued into the second period with both teams battling across the ice until the Ice Hawk's Brad Parker was called for interference at 18:59, giving Marist a one-man advantage. Rapisardi, however, was up to the challenge in goal stopping five shots during the power play, including three in quick succession. Marist was held scoreless during the power play.
Chris Princiotta had the crowd on their feet at one point, as he found himself speeding down the ice for a one-one breakaway with the Marist goalie, Matt Allatin. Allatin, however, was up to the challenge stopping Princiotta's shot easily. The shot rebounded, off of Allatin and Princiotta grabbed the puck and put up another quick shot, but Allatin was game again, covering up the puck to make the save.
The Red Foxes spread the puck around well on offense, with four different players scoring for the team. Brian Kushner, Kevin Altieri and Lou Guglielmetti all joined Chamberlain in the box score in the second and third periods.
Kushner's goal was particularly exciting for the Marist fans. Kushner found himself on a breakaway against Rapisardi. Rapisardi came off his crease to make the save, but Kushner skated around him and placed the puck into the open net.
Guglielmetti opened the scoring onslaught with 5:59 left in the second period, putting a shot past Rapisardi, briefly silencing the fired-up New Paltz supporters. Chamberlain then added his first goal of the night with 4:40 left in the period to give the Red Foxes a 2-0 lead going into the third.
As the New Paltz crowd rallied around their team in the third period, hoping for a comeback not unlike the one two days earlier against Hofstra, the period began with Marist winning the face-off. Both teams set the tone for the hard-hitting period early, with Red Fox Dan Federico picking up a double minor at 16:15, for a small scuffle with the Ice Hawks' Todd Wilcox, who also picked up a minor penalty for his part in the fray.
New Paltz held up well aggressively, connecting on hard checks throughout the game. Ice Hawks standout goalie Frank Rapisardi held up through the aggressive play as well. When a Marist player foolishly skated into Rapisardi, the goalie tackled the bigger player to the ice and jumped on him, as other Marist players piled into the brawl in front of the New Paltz goal.
The Hawks' usual dump-and-chase offense failed to work in the game, with the Marist defense turning away every opportunity for the Ice Hawks. Allatin was particularly successful at keeping New Paltz scoring machines Princiotta and Rich McQueen scoreless in the game. "We understand that our passes need to be a little more quicker and crisper," said Edelman. "Marist was so aggressive that we didn't have the time to make the perfect pass."
Kushner's goal with 10:25 left in the third was a big shock for the Ice Hawks, as eight seconds later, Altieri took advantage of the dejected New Paltz player's bad defense and put the nail in the coffin, as Marist took a 4-0 lead.
The final goal came off a rebound from the Ice Hawks Dan Smith, who hauled ass to the New Paltz side of the ice to deny the Red Foxes' Don Durando a quality shot on the New Paltz goal. Despite Smith's heroic save, he was unable to clear the puck and Marist's Chamberlain was able to put the shot past Rapisardi for the Red Foxes' final goal on the evening.
Allatin, however, was an unsportsmanlike player, pushing and swinging at New Paltz players when the referees weren't looking. Despite his dirty play, Allatin refuted every shot that the Hawks put up and managed to do what no other team has been able to do this season; keep the Hawks scoreless on breakaways.
Despite the loss, Edelman feels his team has taken a positive attitude from the game. "The team understands it still has a lot to work on," said Edelman. "[The loss] highlights what we need to work on."
