WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Albertus Magnus College men's ice hockey team advanced to the inaugural Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Commissioner's Cup championship game with a 4-1 victory over Rivier University on Friday evening. The GNAC Commissioner's Cup is hosted by Anna Maria College at the Olympia Ice Center in West Springfield, Mass.
The Falcons were led by Zach Pellegrino (Madison, Conn.), Ryan Colwell (Plainedge, N.Y.), Cameron Weitzman (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec), and Harley Michaels (Kirkland, Quebec), who finished the evening as AMC's goal scorers. In net, Logan Bateman (Ottawa, Ontario) made 21 saves for his 16th win of the season.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 4 | Rivier 1
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (16-7-1) | Rivier (5-16-2)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Falcons took the first lead of the game 8:04 into the contest. Pellegrino scored the opening goal, finding paydirt through the keeper's legs from the right side of the zone. Dino Antoniadis (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) assisted Pellegrino on the game's first tally.
Albertus needed just 1:25 to go ahead 2-0 after capitalizing on a Rivier turnover in the neutral zone. After a Raiders' player sent a pass right to Colwell, the freshman forward stormed down the ice before beating the goalie to his glove side.
The contest settled down in the second period, as neither team scored through the duration of the frame. Bateman saved all 16 shots he faced to maintain a clean sheet through two periods.
Rivier got onto the scoreboard 10:59 into the third period to make it a 2-1 Albertus lead. Ryan Nolte netted the Raiders' goal by tossing the puck from the left boards before it snuck over the goalie's glove-side shoulder.
The Falcons found an immediate answer just 1:11 later to widen their advantage to 3-1. Colwell sent a pass to a trailing Weitzman, who gathered the puck and fired a slapshot to snipe the top-right corner.
Albertus put the game away with 40 seconds remaining on the clock, as Michaels sealed a 4-1 Falcons' victory with an empty-net goal.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus: Logan Bateman (W, 16-5-1): Shots on Goal 22 | Goal-Against 1 | Saves 21
Rivier: Andrew LoRusso (L, 1-8-0): Shots on Goal 30 | Goals-Against 3 | Saves 27
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- The Falcons owned a 31-22 advantage in shots over the Raiders.
- Neither team scored a power-play goal.
- Albertus served six minutes on three penalties, while the Raiders sat for four minutes on two infractions.
- Sam Anderson (Calgary, Alberta) paced Albertus with six shots.
NOTEWORTHY
- With tonight's win, the Falcons bested the Raiders in both of their matchups this season.
- Albertus improved to 4-1 in neutral-site games this year.
- Bateman picked up his 16th win as a junior.
- Colwell tallied multiple points in three-straight games and five of his last seven contests.
- Colwell is tied for the team lead with three game-winning goals.
- Weitzman climbed to fourth on the team with 10 goals.
UP NEXT
With today's win, the Falcons advanced to the championship game of the GNAC Commissioner's Cup, which will take place tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. at the Olympia Ice Center. Albertus will face the winner of game two between Anna Maria and SUNY Canton.
