The Ice Knights remain undefeated following two weekend victories
Photo courtesy of Geneseoknights.com
Jacob Torgner earned Goalie of the Week honors after his first shutout of the season, making 22 saves in SUNY Geneseo's 4-0 win over Williams to keep the No. 4 Knights unbeaten.
This past weekend, the Ice Knights extended their undefeated winning streak with two dominating victories over Amherst College and Williams College. The powerful Ice Knights protected their home turf with two back-to-back wins and still have a long season ahead of them.
On Saturday, Nov. 30, the Ice Hockey team had a close win against Amherst College with an end score of 3-2. Starting the game off strong with a faceoff win by Geneseo freshman forward Gabriel LaFlamme, Geneseo gained immediate momentum in this game.
With quick plays from the Knights to get the puck around the ice, the two teams head to head for the first shot. Geneseo had an interference against Amherst, which resulted in a two-minute penalty and a power play for the away team.
Amherst’s upper hand against Geneseo had the Knights on the tip of their skates as they had to put their defense to work. Shortly after the powerplay came to an end, Amherst shot around Geneseo to find the back of the net and put a number on the board. With impressive attempts on the goal, Geneseo remained in possession of the puck until the buzzer rang and the first period ended.
The first faceoff of the second period proved to be successful for the mighty Knights as they held possession and finally got through Amherst’s strong defense. With a little help from junior defender Dakota Zarudny, sophomore forward Filip Wiberg got the puck through the cage.
With a penalty against Amherst, Geneseo was man-up on the ice, which resulted in another successful shot on goal. An assist from sophomore defender Sean Melso then led senior forward Zach Purcell to gain a beautiful shot on goal.
After a couple of attempted shots on goal, the Knights quickly regained possession and kept it on their sticks until the end of the period during this tied portion of the game. This put the two teams into overtime. With a close third period, Amherst had even strength, but that did not stop the Knights from keeping their power position on the ice until the buzzer.
With nerves high, the Knights entered sudden death with a competitive team. Here, senior forward Peter Morgan got the puck after a faceoff win and a hot pass from Zarudny to senior forward Cooper Fensterstock for the game-winning shot.
On Sunday, Dec. 1, the Knights had three periods to win in a shut-out game against Williams College. Within the first three minutes of the first period, Geneseo got a shot off a lost faceoff, as Zarudny shot the puck across the ice and through the goalkeeper's stick.
With some missed shots from Geneseo, keeping the puck on the sticks, the Knights yet again held their ground. With an assist from senior defender Tommy Winn, sophomore forward Carter Diceman was prepared to slap the puck to the back of the net. This gave Geneseo a 2-0 lead going into the second quarter.
With only one successful shot on goal, Geneseo made moves around the ice to keep Williams at bay and away from their net. Even though Geneseo was man-down, that did not stop them from having the upper hand over the away team.
Shortly after the Knights missed a shot, they quickly got the puck back, and sophomore forward Luke Panchisin got a pass from Wiberg after a rebound by senior defender Tommy Winn.
With their heads held high, the Knights confidently entered the final period and maintained their undefeated title and reputation. Williams College suffered a penalty, which put Geneseo is in a power play position, resulting in their ultimate success. Junior forward Alex Dameski received a quick pass from Panchisin to finish this blow-out game. This, hopefully, is just a small sign of a long season with a bright future.
The Ice Knights will hit the ground running against Utica with two back-to-back games on Friday, Dec. 6, and Saturday, Dec. 7. Friday’s game will be in the Ira S. Wilson Arena, and the Knights are away the following day.