NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Albertus Magnus College men's ice hockey team kicked off the 2022-23 season with a bang, defeating Saint Michael's College by a final score of 4-1 in its season-opener on Friday afternoon at the Ralph Walker Skating Rink.

THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 4 | St. Michael's 1
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (1-0-0) | St. Michael's (0-1-0)
BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Falcons opened the game's scoring at the 9:16 mark, when senior Charles Risk (Medicine Hat, Alberta) found the back of the net on a breakaway, slapping a loose puck in front of the crease by the sliding keeper.

• Despite owning a 13-3 advantage in shots in the opening frame, Albertus had to settle for a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
• The Purple Knights were unbothered by the discrepancy in shots, tying the game at 1-1, 1:19 into the second period on a goal by Matt Schreiner.
• Albertus did not let the game sit tied for long, however, as Alex Gagnon (Montreal, Quebec) netted the eventual game-winner 2:21 later. On a power play, Gagnon took a quick pass from Tyler Ignazzitto (Bath, Ontario) before beating the goalie to his stick side. Ryan Colwell (Plainedge, N.Y.) also earned an assist on the goal.

• The Falcons added to their lead at the 14:04 mark with another power-play tally. Freshman Bailey Kirwin (Barrie, Ontario) netted his first career goal on an extra-man chance, cashing in on a pass from fellow rookie Austin Cook (West Berlin, N.J.).

• AMC capped off an exciting second period with a short-handed strike from Dino Antoniadis (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), who stole the puck in his own territory and beat two defenders before firing the puck through the keeper's five hole.

• The action calmed down after an electric second period, as both teams went scoreless in the third, sealing a 4-1 season-opening victory for the Falcons.
• Logan Bateman (Ottawa, Ontario) tallied his 17th career win tonight by allowing one goal and making 16 saves.

BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus: Logan Bateman (W, 1-0-0): 17 Shots on Goal | 1 Goal-Against | 16 Saves
St. Michael's: Marshall Murphy (L, 0-1-0): 37 Shots on Goal | 4 Goals-Against | 33 Saves

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Falcons held a dominant 37-17 lead in shots.
• AMC went 2-for-5 on the power-play.
• Albertus also went a perfect 8-for-8 on the penalty kill.
• The Falcons were whistled nine times for 18 minutes in the box, while the Purple Knights served 14 minutes on seven infractions.
• Ignazzitto paced all players with five shots.
• Gagnon (1g, 1a) and Ignazzitto (2a) led all players with two points each.

NOTEWORTHY

• The Falcons and Purple Knights have faced off three times after tonight's contest.
• With the win, AMC evened the all-time series at 1-1-1.
• Albertus' win tonight is the program's first in a season-opener.
• Gagnon and Ignazzitto both tallied their first multi-point games of the season.
• Kirwin and Cook netted their first-career points on Kirwin's goal in the second.
• Bateman picked up his 17th win with the Falcons and improved his all-time record to 17-8-1.

UP NEXT
The Falcons and Purple Knights hit the ice again tomorrow at 4 p.m. for the second game of the weekend series at the Ralph Walker Skating Rink.