Sunday, February 4, 2018

Brockport defeats Morrisville for second night in a row

The College at Brockport ice hockey team completes the back-to-back sweep against Morrisville State, winning by a final score of 5-3. The Golden Eagles move to 11-10-1 (5-7-1) on the year, where the Mustangs fall to 6-14-3 (3-11).

Brockport came out stumbling against Morrisville as they fell behind 2-0 within the first five minutes of the opening period. The deficit was cut to 2-1 midway through the first, when Connor Hutchins one-timed a shot from a Zac Sikich pass through the five-hole of the opposing goalie. In the final seconds of the period, David Horan tied the game up 2-2 on a power play goal.  Dylan Shapiro collected a loose puck in front of the net and passed it over to Horan who buried his shot into the back of the cage.

The Golden Eagles wasted no time in the second period as they took a 3-2 lead 18 seconds into play. The Brockport offense won the face off and worked the puck down into their offensive zone, where Hutchins hit Aidan Verbeke in front of the net for him to convert his shot. Brockport slipped minutes later as they game was tied up 3-3 minutes. Both teams battled it out for the remainder of the period, but it was Brockport to pull ahead 4-3 on a late power play goal. Tim Kielich split three defensemen with a pass to find Hutchins wide open on the far post to convert his shot.

The Green and Gold earned an early penalty in the third period that gave Morrisville a chance to tie the game up. Even though Brockport was down a man, they were still able to notch a short-handed goal that increased their lead to 5-3. After a mishandled puck by the visiting goalie, Verbeke was there to tap the puck into the open net for his second goal of the game. The Mustangs offense picked up the pace, but the Golden Eagles defense was too strong and held onto the victory.

Verbeke led the offense for Brockport as he accounted for two goals and two assists. Hutchins also finished with the game with a pair of goals and an assist. Brian Hurlimann and Sikich each handed out two assists a piece on the evening. Goalie Matt Schneider racked up 27 saves between the pipes.