Marist club hockey pulled off a dramatic season-opening road win over Rutgers’ Division I club hockey team, prevailing 3-2 in a shootout.
After a sub-.500 season last year, during which Marist went 9-11-1 and experienced a head coaching change, the Red Foxes showed off their newfound poise, tenacity and skill. Even more impressive was how Marist won after trailing 2-1 against a Division I club squad in Rutgers that plays a whole division ahead of them, with a goal in the final minute of regulation saving the day for Marist.
Junior goalie Anthony Russo’s standout performance was key in this one for Marist, as the goaltender posted one of the better performances of his collegiate career. Russo, who last season had a .888 save percentage and 3.73 goals against average, only allowed two goals and came up big when it mattered most.
Poor discipline will be the story of this game for Rutgers, as they took 11 penalties and allowed Marist to benefit from nine total power plays. Even though Marist did not score on any of them, being at a disadvantage for so much time made it difficult for Rutgers to score or get any kind of pressure going.
Just 20 seconds after Rutgers freshman forward Sammy Askin put one past junior goalie Anthony Russo, junior forward Tyler Stoneman tied the match at one apiece with 6:48 remaining in the first period. After the whistle for the end of the first period, some pushing and shoving resulted in one five-minute major penalty for both teams going into the second frame.
Captain of the Scarlet Knights, sophomore defenseman Harrison Albrecht, made a beautiful pass down the ice to freshman forward Connor Reagan; he scored on a shorthanded breakaway with 11:05 remaining in the second period to put Rutgers up 2-1.
With just 15 seconds remaining in the game, senior forward Christian Wilde beat out an icing call and scored to force the game to overtime, tied at 2-2.
Early in overtime, what was initially signaled to be a Rutgers goal by referees was then ruled to be matching penalties, and yet another incredible save by Russo.
Once the match went to a shootout, Marist scored two goals, one by sophomore forward Zachary Taylor and the game-winner scored by junior forward Chris Citera.
Even though new head coach Anthony LoBianco was only hired 11 days ago, the team played very in sync and managed to take advantage of their biggest opportunities. Marist will look to carry the momentum from this win into their home opener; the Red Foxes will take on Saint Thomas Aquinas College next Saturday at 4:15 in the McCann Ice Arena.
Edited by Luke Sassa
Graphic and photos from Kira Crutcher
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