Exciting weekend win for the Ice Knights
Photo courtesy of Geneseoknights.com
The Ice Knights dominated Brockport this past weekend, as they move closer to the UCHC Tournament! With back-to-back wins, Geneseo strengthened their playoff position.
This weekend, Feb. 7 to Feb. 8, the Geneseo Ice Knights took home two impressive wins against Brockport, getting closer to the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) tournament.
On Friday, Geneseo was on its A-game. The first face-off propelled them into scoring their first goal, as senior forward Zach Purcell grabbed a pass from sophomore forward Filip Wiberg in the first four minutes. With another successful face-off by Wiberg, the Knights wasted no time getting to the net with a quick pass around the ice to freshman forward Jack McDonald to bring the Ice Knights to a two-point lead.
Geneseo’s defense kept Brockport at bay, as they only let one goal into the net during the first period’s beginning 11 minutes. Geneseo’s last line of defense saved shot after shot, with senior goalkeeper Adam Harris working overtime to prevent the Golden Eagles from scoring.
As the second period began, a penalty was given to the Ice Knights, giving Brockport the upper hand with a power play. Even with an extra man on the ice, the Golden Eagles could not find the back of the net. With some failed attempts of shots on goal from both sides, the Ice Knights scored to put them at a three-point advantage. Freshman defender Giuseppe Fiorillo shot a quick pass to junior forward Alex Dameski for another impressive slap shot into the net.
After a missed shot from Geneseo, Brockport pulled it together to get another successful shot on goal. On the defensive side, the powerful Ice Knights made block after block, denying the Golden Eagles the chance to run up the score. The period ended with a successful faceoff, and the Knights were ready to reset and return to add a few more numbers to the board.
Within the first two minutes of the last period on day one, senior forward Cooper Fensterstock scored successfully, bringing the Ice Knights up by three points yet again. But they were not done yet. Ten minutes later, Wiberg scored another goal with Purcell’s help. Not 20 seconds later was an impressively clean pass and shot, once again landed by Wiberg. This ended Friday’s game with a 7-2 final score, favoring the Knights.
On Saturday, the Knights had a slower start, not scoring until 13 minutes after the start of the first period—which seemed to give them the momentum they needed to score another two goals before the buzzer went off. The first goal was off an assist from Fiorillo, who sent it to freshman forward Payne Gatewood and launched it to the back of the net. The game's first goal was followed by a powerplay score by senior forward Peter Morgan to put Geneseo at a three-point lead heading into the second period.
Brockport started the second strong with their first goal of the game, but Geneseo was determined not to let anymore through. They held their ground on the defensive front with players like senior defender Diarmad DiMurro and freshman defender Samuel Beaulne who protected the net from the opponent.
Geneseo only scored once in this period, as Gatewood caught a quick pass from McDonald and slapped it through Brockport’s goalkeeper. This brought a close to the second period and ushered the game into the final one of the weekend. Geneseo and Brockport had difficulty moving closer to the net this time, as their goalkeepers were locked-in and looking to deny entrance to the cage. That did not stop sophomore defender Sean Melso, however, from finding the back of the net after an earlier failed attempt at goal.
Brockport answered with a last-minute goal, but the night ended with the Knights in the lead with a 5-2 score. This serves as another addition to the Knights’ winning streak! Next weekend on Friday, Feb. 14, the Knights head to Utica University, followed by a home game in the Ira S. Wilson arena at 7 pm. Show your support this Saturday, and go Knights!