PINE VALLEY, N.Y. – Sophomore Ryan Jackson (Montreal, Que./Hawkesbury Hawks (CCHL)) scored two goals and junior Jared Martin (Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask./Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL)) netted the game-winner while shorthanded late in the second period as the Manhattanville College men’s hockey team kicked off its United Collegiate Hockey Conference schedule with a 5-3 win over Elmira College on Friday night at the Murray Athletic Center.
Jackson matched his career-high with two goals in helping Manhattanville (1-0-1, 1-0-0 UCHC) to the win, while junior Matt Lippa (Richmond Hill, Ont./Oakville Blades (OJHL)) led all players with three points on a goal and two assists. Martin and sophomore Kenny McLean (New Rochelle, N.Y./New York Bobcats (EHL)) also scored in the win for the Valiants over the Soaring Eagles, who entered the weekend receiving votes in both USCHO.com and D3hockey.com national polls.
Manhattanville wasted no time getting on the scoreboard on Friday, as Lippa potted his first of the year a mere 27 seconds into the contest from junior co-captain Eric Berglund (Sollentuna, Sweden/Islanders Hockey Club (USPHL)) and junior Axel Walltott (Stockholm, Sweden/Varmdo HC J20 (SWE)). After Elmira (1-2-0, 0-1-0 UCHC) knotted the score on an unassisted goal from Chris Moses, Jackson scored his first of the night with 2:04 on the clock from freshman Taylor Bommarito (Sterling Heights, Mich./Charlotte Rush (USPHL)) and junior assistant captain Casper Dyrssen (Stockholm, Sweden/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) to give the visitors a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.
The Soaring Eagles scored twice in the first five minutes of the second period to grab their first lead of the night, but Jackson leveled the score less than three minutes later with his second of the night from Lippa. The big goal of the game came with 2:09 left in the second stanza, when Martin scored a shorthanded tally with the assist to junior Cory Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif./Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL)) that put the Valiants back ahead headed into the third.
The Valiants increased their lead 5:12 into the third period, when McLean put home the rebound of a Walltott shot from the point to put the visitors in front by a 5-3 margin. Manhattanville outshot Elmira 12-3 in the third period on the way to securing the victory, including only one shot on goal after McLean’s tally.
The visitors finished the night with a 36-23 edge in shots. Junior Tyler Feaver (Whitby, Ont./Whitby Fury (OJHL)) made 20 saves to pick up his first win of the season, while Tyler Sabourin made 31 saves in a losing effort for the home team.
Manhattanville will return to Playland Ice Casino next weekend for a pair of UCHC matchups, beginning with a Friday night meeting with Neumann University beginning at 7 p.m.
