STAMFORD, Conn. – Four different Valiant players found the net for the second straight game as the Valiants got accustomed to their temporary home and also gave head coach Arlen Marshall ’10 his first collegiate victory in the process with a 4-1 triumph over Nazareth in an ECAC West Conference matchup on Friday night at the Terry Conners Rink.
Seniors Brendan Turner (Tisdale, Sask./Lloydminster Bobcats (AJHL)) and Brett Skalski (Exton, Pa./Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL)), junior Luc Van Natter (Fort Erie, Ont./Aurora Tigers (OPJHL)) and sophomore Paul Sirignano (St. Catharines, Ont./Thorold Blackhawks (OJHL)) all scored for Manhattanville in the win, while fellow senior Jason Bowles (Elkhorn, Man./Waywayseecappo Wolverines (MJHL)) led all players with two points via the assist.
The game was delayed more than an hour due to Nazareth travel difficulties, and that showed somewhat in the opening frame. Neither team had many great offensive opportunities and 10 penalties slowed down the pace of the contest, and the teams went into the first intermission scoreless despite Manhattanville’s 10-4 edge in shots.
The momentum turned toward the home team midway through the second period, when Manhattanville killed off a two-man advantage and promptly scored right afterwards to open the scoring. The Valiants killed off 1:12 of five-on-three hockey and the subsequent five-on-four disadvantage, and just as the penalty had expired junior Marc Zanoni (Lethbridge, Alta./Calgary Canucks (AJHL)) sent a pass forward to Van Natter, who had just jumped onto the ice. The junior forward went one-on-one with Nazareth’s Ed Zdolshek and beat him for his first goal of the year at 9:56.
Less than three minutes later the Valiants struck on the power play, as Sirignano cleaned up a loose puck in front for his second goal in three games. Bowles and sophomore JP Witkop (Fairport, N.Y./Merritt Centennials (BCHL)) picked up the assists on the goal, which came at the 12:44 mark of the middle frame.
The Golden Flyers did not go away, however, finally beating sophomore netminder Brian Fleming (Saint John, N.B./Northern Cyclones (AJHL)) with 6:59 to go in regulation thanks to a nice tip-in by Alex Silvia off a shot from the blue line by Scott Dawson.
But with the visitors pressing for the equalizer, Manhattanville scored twice in the final 106 seconds to put the game away. Turner netted his first of the year on another breakaway, as he took a pass from junior Adam Young (Edmonton, Alta./Grande Prairie Storm (AJHL)) and went in all alone on Zdolshek for the score. Then with 57 seconds remaining and the Nazareth net empty, Skalski corralled a long outlet pass from Bowles and deposited it into the cage for his second of the year.
Manhattanville finished the game with a 34-22 edge in shots, as well as a dominating 46-25 advantage at the faceoff dot. Fleming made 21 saves to earn his first collegiate victory between the pipes for Manhattanville, while Zdolshek turned aside 30 saves in a losing effort for Nazareth.
Manhattanville (1-1-1, 1-1-1 ECAC West) and Nazareth (2-4-0, 0-2-0 ECAC West) will complete their two-game weekend series tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at Terry Conners Rink. There is expected to be a live GoValiants.TV broadcast of the game available beginning at 6:45 p.m.
