Ice Knights start season off strong with shutout win
Coming off of an impressive season last year, the Geneseo Ice Knights dominated at the season opener on Friday, Oct. 28. Over a thousand fans piled into the Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena to witness the Knights successfully shut out Neumann in the first game of the season. The 3-0 victory marks the start of another explosive season for Geneseo.
The first period was a shooting battle, with Geneseo racking up 15 shots on goal to Neumann’s 10, but it wasn’t until just shy of the 18th minute that the first goal was scored. Sophomore forward Peter Morgan dished the puck to freshman defender Dakota Zarudny, who was able to work it down the ice. The puck was skated to the crease and passed over to senior forward Tyson Gilmour who scored on the one-timer, breaking the tie. That goal gave Gilmour 17 goals in his career, keeping fans eager for more.
The second period was off to a quick start with the Knights scoring just four minutes in. This time, Morgan was able to find the back of the net after deflecting the puck off of a Neumann defender. Morgan’s goal marks the 20th of his career, a benchmark he looks to surpass. The Gilmour-Morgan duo has now scored goals in two consecutive home openers.
Just over a minute later, the Knights struck again with another second period goal. The third goal was credited to senior forward Justin Cmunt, who fired from short-range to push the lead to three. Assists were given to junior defender Nathan Poolman and sophomore forward Cooper Fensterstock who were able to move the puck across the ice.
The third period held scoreless, but it wasn’t due to a lack of shots—Cmunt put four shots on goal in the third period, and sophomore forward Stefan Miklakos had three for themselves. As a team Geneseo put 14 shots on goal, while Neumann amassed 8 in the final period of the game. It became very evident that senior goalkeeper Matt Petizian had no intentions of letting anything by him, as he stopped all 25 shots fired his way, leading to his fourth career shutout.
Thankfully, penalties did not rule the game or stop play; Geneseo and Neumann accumulated five and six, respectively. Both teams were successful in killing off the power plays, not allowing any goals to be scored. Regardless of how many players are on the ice, the Knights were the enforcers they have always been known to be.
The win on Friday marked Geneseo’s sixth consecutive season opener win; it is also their fifth-straight win against Neumann, a team they are 19-6-4 against all-time. The Knights look to feed off of the big win to start the year and kickstart yet another prevailing season. Prior to the win, Geneseo honored the founder and winningest head coach in the program’s history, Paul Duffy. The ice in the Ira S. Wilson Arena will now be known as Paul Duffy Rink, a rink that will be home to many more Ice Knight victories.