RYE, N.Y. – Despite outshooting Manhattanville College in road non-conference action, the Albertus Magnus College men's ice hockey team was unable to capitalize on those chances in a 4-1 setback to the Valiants on Tuesday night at the PlayLand Ice Casino in Rye, N.Y.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Manhattanville 4 | Albertus Magnus 1
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (3-12-2) | Manhattanville (6-8-1)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
Alex Rowella opened tonight's scoring in the first period, giving the Valiants a 1-0 lead at the 7:49 mark of the frame. While on a power play, Rowella corralled a rebounded shot in front of Albertus' net and beat the Falcons' goalie for the score.
The Valiants built on their lead in the second period, going ahead 2-0 at the 10:01 mark of the stanza with a power-play score by Jack McDonough. Rowella fed McDonough a pass from behind the Albertus net that he then flipped over Pierce Diamond's (Edmonton, Alberta) leg pad for the goal.
Manhattanville added two more goals in the third period to take a commanding 4-0 lead. Rowella struck first with his second goal of the evening at the 2:33 mark of the period, while Ken McLean snuck in a goal at the 14:24 mark.
Albertus' lone score of the evening came with a man-advantage in the final minute of the contest. With an extra skater, Robert Eichelberger (Odessa, Fla.) broke up the shutout by slapping a loose puck past Manhattanville's Mac Vail with 34 seconds left on the clock. Bayley Kubara (Wombarra, Australia) picked up an assist on the play, his second of the season.
In goal, Diamond stayed busy, making 31 saves on 35 shots on goal. The rookie netminder, who has tallied 30-plus saves nine times this year, made multiple difficult stops to help keep the Falcons competitive.
A theme of tonight's action was penalties, as the action was tense from the opening whistle. In total, both teams combined for 24 penalties for 67 minutes. Albertus was called for 10 minor penalties, while Manhattanville recorded 11 minors, two 10-minute penalties and one five-minute major. These constant whistles resulted in a combined 20 power-play opportunities for the teams.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus - Pierce Diamond (L, 3-12-2): Shots on Goal 35 | Goals-Against 4 | Saves 31
Manhattanville - Mac Vail (W, 6-6-0): Shots on Goal 40 | Goal-Against 1 | Saves 39
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• The Falcons owned a 40-35 lead in shots.
• The two teams combined for 24 penalties for 67 minutes.
• Albertus went 1-for-11 on the power play, while Manhattanville was 3-for-9 with an extra skater.
• Thirteen different Falcons tallied a shot in tonight's contest.
• Charles Risk (Medicine Hat, Alberta) and Cameron Weitzman (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec) led Albertus with seven shots each.
NOTEWORTHY
• The Falcons drop to 0-5-1 on the road this year.
• Albertus' 40 shots are the second-most by the team this season.
• Eichelberger is up to two goals on the year and has tallied a point in three of his last four games.
• Diamond is up to 508 saves during his freshman campaign.
UP NEXT
The Falcons will play its first nationally-ranked team in the program's young history on Friday, Jan. 17, challenging No. 13 Williams College in road action. The opening puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. in Williamstown, Mass.