POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — Marist Club Hockey won their 10th annual Breast Cancer Awareness (BCA) game on Saturday in an overtime thriller over Montclair State, courtesy of a heroic goal from forward Brendan Buckley. With the incredible goal, Buckley capped off a philanthropic BCA game that starred not only him, but the entire community.
While the game was a one-of-a-kind on the ice, its significance off the ice was far more important. For the tenth time, Tri Sigma sponsored the BCA game, which saw all proceeds go to the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Awareness foundation. Across balloons and jerseys, McCann Ice Arena filled with pink and white in support of the cause.
“It is a great cause. We’re lucky enough to be able to partner with Tri Sigma and raise awareness and money for this great cause,” said Michael Beck, Marist Club Hockey Head Coach.
“We love doing it,” said Alexa Siciliano, President of Tri Sigma. “We love seeing the whole school and the community come together with the Millbrook Mites playing and everything. So we really love not only the fact that it’s a fundraiser but also it brings everyone together which is nice.”
The Millbrook Mites are members of the Millbrook Youth Hockey Association, and took to the ice in between periods. Their part in the event was special to everyone, as their support for the cause aided in bringing the the entire Hudson Valley Community together.
When the puck dropped, Marist was ready to go, killing off a penalty in the first five minutes of the game and hitting the pipe on a quick wrist shot from forward Brian Hogan.
Early on, Marist controlled the game—eventually scoring off a wrist shot from forward Bryce Gomez after a pass from Buckley. Marist whiffed on a few other chances, but failed to score again before the first period ended.
Marist continued their dominance to begin the second half, overwhelming Montclair’s defense until Buckley eventually found Hogan for another goal with 16:33 remaining in the second period.
Marist tallied five penalties following their second goal, leading to a five-on-three power play for Montclair to start the third period. “We’re gonna straighten it out, probably a little bit in practice,” Beck said. “I think there are too many offensive zone penalties. We will talk to some of the guys, too many penalties for being up two nothing, we had five in the second period and we were winning the game so cutting back on that a little bit is something that we have in the back of our minds.”
Montclair began to take advantage in the third period, as Marist continued to send players to the box. The Red Hawks promptly scored a powerplay goal off the stick of Shawn Meneghin with 8:59 remaining in the third.
Montclair followed suit with a second goal just three minutes later by Evan Callendrillo to tie the game at two. Despite some quality chances for both offenses, including a Marist breakaway, the game went to overtime. It was Buckley’s time to shine.
Shortly after the horn sounded, Buckley scored the game-winning wrist shot, capping off a win for Marist Hockey in front of a gleeful home crowd.