The Keene State Men’s Ice Hockey team hosted King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., in its 3-2 win on Friday, Dec. 5. This win elevates the Owls to over .500 on the season before they enter the break.
After two straight road losses to Little East Conference (LEC) opponents, the Owls returned to Keene ICE Arena to play an out-of-conference matchup.
The first half of the period was a feeling-out process for both squads aside from KSC’s power play opportunity around the six-minute mark, which generated five shots on goal. A few minutes of even-strength play led to KSC controlling the puck in the offensive zone, and sophomore defender Sean Hoffman stuffing the puck in the net to give the Owls an early lead.
The minutes following the goal saw action up and down the ice as both teams fired shots on net and were denied by both goalies. A missed shot from senior winger Payton Jones was collected by Hoffman and the sophomore fired it back to Jones, who netted the shot for his first goal of the season.
With a two-goal lead, Keene State held all of the momentum to close out the first period, and with five and a half minutes left to play, sophomore defender Sean McBride received a major penalty for a hit from behind.
The Owls held solid on the penalty kill for some time and even cleared the puck a few times. The Monarchs kept the pressure on while up a man and four minutes into the power play scored their first of the night and cut the lead to 2-1. Keene State killed the remaining time off the five-minute penalty and the period ended in favor of the home team.
The Monarchs opened up the period ready to tie the game up, firing several shots on net that were all stopped by sophomore goalie Ben Skelton. Keene State returned the pressure at the other end, only to be called for a tripping penalty committed by sophomore forward Peter Unger, which caused the team to go shorthanded.
Skelton held strong and stopped three shots before Unger came back on the ice to end the penalty. Both teams approached the ten-minute mark, still hoping to notch the next goal, an important goal.
With four minutes left to play, King’s College was called for a tripping penalty of its own and KSC hopped on the power play. The Owls kept high pressure and had numerous shots on net but were unable to capitalize on the power play.
Less than a minute after that penalty ended, the Monarchs were called for another penalty, this time for hooking. The penalty took place with 1:23 to go in the period and continued into the third period after KSC failed again to grab the two-goal lead.
To start the third, KSC was able to get a shot off in the final seconds of the man-advantage, but was unable to notch the goal.
Three minutes in, KSC was able to set up shop in the Monarchs’ zone, creating chance after chance. Two minutes later, the pressure paid off as junior forward Marcus Chrisafideis stuffed in a goal and stretched the Owls’ lead to 3-1, the first assist coming from Unger.
Back-and-forth play followed the KSC goal until around the 10-minute mark when the Monarchs cashed in a goal on an opportunity to bring the game closer at 3-2.
The road team continued to push in the third but was unable to set up in the Owls’ zone. Skelton made numerous saves in the back half of the period, amounting to a 30-save night for the goaltender.
With under five to go in the game, the Monarchs committed a crucial holding penalty that left them shorthanded while searching for the tying goal. As the power play ended for the Owls, the Monarchs emptied the net in hopes of tying the game late. Skelton made two crucial saves in the final minute to give KSC the win over King’s College.
The Owls will play next on Monday, Jan. 5, after the college’s winter break and will head to Fitchburg State University to play the Falcons.
Jacob Enscoe can be contacted at
