RYE, N.Y. – Junior Matt Lippa (Richmond Hill, Ont./Oakville Blades (OJHL)) recorded a career-high five points to lead the Manhattanville College men’s hockey team to its highest scoring output in over a decade in an 11-2 romp over King’s (Pa.) College in a United Collegiate Hockey Conference and Middle Atlantic Conference matchup on Saturday night at Playland Ice Casino.
The 11 goals scored are the most put home by a Valiant side since scoring 12 against Plymouth State University on January 5, 2007, and the fifth-most goals scored in a game in program history.
Seven different players scored and 15 of Manhattanville’s 18 skaters recorded at least one point in the win. Lippa led the way with only the 20th five-point game in school history, as the junior scored twice and added three assists to tie for third on the school single-game scoring list. Junior assistant captain Casper Dyrssen (Stockholm, Sweden/Northern Cyclones (EHL)) and sophomore Ryan Jackson (Montreal, Que./Hawkesbury Hawks (CCHL)) both chipped in a career-high four points apiece, with Dyrssen scoring twice and adding two assists while Jackson scored once and assisted on three other goals.
Junior co-captain Eric Berglund (Sollentuna, Sweden/Islanders Hockey Club (USPHL)) and freshman Taylor Bommarito (Sterling Heights, Mich./Charlotte Rush (USPHL)) both scored twice as well for Manhattanville (3-1-1, 3-1-0 UCHC/1-1-0 MAC), who more than doubled the Monarchs in shots with a 60-29 advantage on the night.
The Valiants wasted no time getting ahead of King’s (0-6-0, 0-5-0 UCHC/0-2-0 MAC) early on, scoring five times in the first period to take control of the game. Senior co-captain Stephen Gaul (Downers Grove, Ill./Springfield Pics (USPHL)) opened the scoring 3:35 into the game with his third of the year, followed by Berglund’s first of the night on the power play at the 8:02 mark. Lippa scored the eventual game-winning goal at 14:14 of the period, followed by goals from junior Axel Walltott (Stockholm, Sweden/Varmdo HC J20 (SWE)) and his countryman Berglund again to give the home team a 5-0 lead after 20 minutes.
King’s got on the board early in the second on Isaac Cirinna’s first collegiate tally, but Manhattanville got that goal back while shorthanded a few minutes later, when Dyrssen and junior Jeff Beck (Broomall, Pa./Philadelphia Junior Flyers (EHL)) went in on a two-on-none breakaway before Beck fed Dyrssen for the score. The Valiants added one more in the period when Bommarito scored on the power play with 8:11 remaining.
With the result not in doubt entering the final period, Manhattanville outshot King’s 25-6 and scored four more times to account for the final score. Jackson got in on the scoring action with a rocket from the point 8:58 into the frame, while Dyrssen answered a Jamie Lukas goal with his second of the night 2:01 later. Bommarito and Lippa added their second goals of the night in the final two minutes to finish off the scoring.
Junior Tyler Feaver (Whitby, Ont./Whitby Fury (OJHL)) picked up the win for Manhattanville, turning aside 27 shots. Jake Tugnutt suffered the loss by allowing five goals on 16 shots in the first period, while Mike Cosentino played admirably between the pipes for the final two periods, limiting the Valiants to six goals while turning aside 38 shots.
Manhattanville will take the momentum from the win westward, as the Valiants head to Wisconsin next weekend for two games against the consensus #1 team in Division III, St. Norbert College. The two-game series begins on Friday night at 7 p.m. (Central time) in De Pere.
