RYE, N.Y. – A pair of juniors stole the show on Senior Night, as Jared Martin (Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask./Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL)) and Cory Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif./Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL)) combined for four goals to lead the Manhattanville College men’s hockey team to a critical 5-4 win over Lebanon Valley College in a United Collegiate Hockey Conference and Middle Atlantic Conference battle on Saturday night at Playland Ice Casino.
The win clinches a postseason berth for Manhattanville (11-7-5, 8-4-2 UCHC/4-2-0 MAC), as the Valiants now sit in a tie for fourth place in the UCHC and only two points back of first with two conference games remaining. The Valiants could still finish anywhere between first and sixth in the conference depending on the results of next weekend.
Martin had a huge game for the home team, posting his first career multi-goal game and adding an assist for a career-high three points. Anderson also had a pair of tallies for the Valiants, while sophomore Kenny McLean (New Rochelle, N.Y./New York Bobcats (EHL)) scored and added an assist as well. The line of Martin, McLean and junior Matt Lippa (Richmond Hill, Ont./Oakville Blades (OJHL)) combined for three goals and four assists on the evening.
Martin singlehandedly helped the Valiants to a lead after one period, scoring both Manhattanville goals. The junior broke the ice at 7:51 of the period from linemates McLean and Lippa, and then gave the Valiants a 2-1 advantage at the 16:07 mark with his fourth goal of the season. Manhattanville outshot Lebanon Valley (10-9-2, 9-4-2 UCHC/2-3-1 MAC) by a 17-4 margin over the first 20 minutes.
Anderson put Manhattanville up by two goals on the first shift of the second stanza, scoring 13 seconds into the frame from junior Oscar Arfelt (Stockholm, Sweden/Connecticut Oilers (EHL)) and senior assistant captain Thimmy Garbenius (Nykvarn, Sweden/Sodertalje SK (SWE)). After the Dutchmen scored twice to even the score, McLean found the net just 23 seconds after LVC’s third goal to quickly put the home team back in front by a 4-3 score.
Anderson struck again 4:45 into the third period with a key insurance goal that turned out to be crucial after LVC converted its third power-play chance of the night thanks to TJ Sneath’s second goal of the night. But senior Kyle Redmond (Toronto, Ont./Northfield Mount Hermon) stopped the final four shots he faced after that goal to preserve his unblemished record and the Valiants’ key conference win.
Manhattanville ended the night outshooting Lebanon Valley 41-20, including 28-12 through the first two periods. Redmond improved to 4-0-1 on the year by making 17 saves on 21 shots, while Tyler Perhac suffered the loss for LVC by ceding all five goals on 30 shots before Joel Eisenhower came on to stop all 10 shots he faced over the final 14:11.
Manhattanville will close out the regular season with two road contests, beginning on Friday night with a matchup at Nazareth College starting at 7 p.m.
