Hockey Nets Five Straight Goals to Upend Manhattanville, 5-2

Hockey Nets Five Straight Goals to Upend Manhattanville, 5-2

RYE, N.Y. – Curry College scored the final five goals of the game to erase a two-goal deficit and deal the Manhattanville College men's hockey team a 5-2 loss in non-conference action on Sunday night at Playland Ice Casino.

Jake Heisinger had a goal and an assist to lead a balanced Curry (7-5-1) attack, which saw five players score and 10 record at least one point. Manhattanville (5-5-2) was led by senior assistant captain Jake Mooney (Toronto, Ont./North York Rangers (OPJHL)) with a goal and assist of his own.

Looking to remain unbeaten at home this season, Manhattanville was the aggressor early, using a persistent forecheck to keep the puck in the offensive zone and around the net of Curry netminder Derek Mohney. Sophomore Phil Dinner (Simsbury, Conn./Connecticut Oilers (EJHL)) opened the scoring at 3:54 of the first thanks to some of that pressure, when he wristed a shot past Mohney for his second of the year.

The Valiants continued to increase the pressure in the second period, eventually building a two-goal lead when sophomore Nolan Marshall (Drumheller, Alta./Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL)) found Mooney streaking down the left side of the ice for a slap shot that found the net at 8:06. Freshman Stephen Gaul (Downers Grove, Ill./Springfield Pics (USPHL)) assisted on both Valiant goals as the team jumped out to the early lead.

But after controlling play for much of the first two frames, things changed quickly with two Curry goals in the final 3:56 of the second stanza. Ryan Gay took advantage of a giveaway in the Valiant defensive zone to score his first of the year at 16:04 to make it a one-goal game. Arguably the biggest goal of the game came with just 0.3 seconds left in the period, when Adam DiBrina tipped home a Jarrett Kup shot off a faceoff to stun the Valiants and give the Colonels all the momentum headed into the third.

Curry took its first lead of the night just seconds after its first power-play chance of the evening, when Heisinger beat senior Brian Fleming (Saint John, N.B./Northern Cyclones (AJHL)) from the left circle 2:49 into the third period. With the teams skating four-on-four after a Curry cross-checking call was nullified by a Valiant charging minor, the Colonels added to the lead at the 8:53 mark when Ryan Fitzgerald skated into the zone and fired a wrist shot that eluded Fleming for his first of the year.

The Valiants had a third goal called off due to a high stick later in the period, which forced the team to pull Fleming with more than three minutes to go looking for a pair of goals. Instead, Sean Nelson gained control of the puck in the defensive zone and sent it up the ice for Dan McGinnis, who skated the puck into the empty net to ice the game with 1:58 left.

Manhattanville finished the night out-shooting Curry by a 32-26 margin, including a 17-7 advantage in the third period that belied the score. Mohney finished the night with 30 saves on 32 shots to earn his third win of the year, while Fleming fell to 4-5-1 on the season by allowing four goals on 25 attempts.

The Valiants will be back in action on Tuesday night, when the squad hosts Morrisville State beginning at 7 p.m. at Playland Ice Casino.  The Colonels will travel to Plymouth State on Thursday, January 8 for a 6 p.m. game.  (Game Recap Courtesy of Manhattanville Sports Information)