Marist club hockey had a lot to prove Friday evening, seeking revenge against conference foes Army who had beaten the Red Foxes 5-3 earlier in the season. Despite a momentum shift to Marist in the third period, Army’s strong core led by their first line secured another 5-3 victory.
Marist entered the game 6-5 overall and 3-3 in the Super East Collegiate League, while the Black Knights came into the match undefeated, 6-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play.
From the first face off, Army dominated possession, with the puck rarely passing their blue line.
The game began with intense action 8:10 into the first period, when junior goaltender Anthony Russo made a critical save, and Marist defensemen cleared the rebound.
“Every time he’s in the net, he’s a great goalie,” said LoBianco. “He is a great player. Every time he makes a great save it kind of gives us energy and momentum to work for him.”
10:30 into the period, matching penalties for roughing were called on junior forward Sean Bruno and Army’s John Nienhaus. On the 4-on-4 play 12:10 into the period, Army’s Wyatt Sirimaturos scored putting the Black Knights ahead 1-0.
Army extended their lead early in the second period. Just 0:59 into the frame, Bobby Staring scored with a precise shot, making it 2-0 to the Black Knights.
At 9:23, Army’s James Delia connected with the other forwards in the first line to push the lead to 3-0. The closing seconds of the period saw heightened physicality, including slashing, shoving, and broken sticks, resulting in a scuffle that broke out after the buzzer.
Army struck again just 1:02 into the final period, with their first-line scoring to push the lead to 4-0. Just three seconds later after receiving the puck off of the face-off, junior defenseman Nolan Faherty scored against his former high school teammate, Army goaltender Liam Monohan, putting Marist on the board and energizing the team.
“It was kind of funny, we had a chat about that after,” Faherty said. “I would like to think the goal got the boys going.”
With the gained momentum, Marist had close chances from junior forward Tyler Stoneman and a key save by Army Monahan. 2:47 into the period, sophomore forward Zachary Taylor found the net, narrowing the score to 4-2.
Marist continued to press, with junior forward Kyle Butchyk getting a significant chance 4:20 minutes into the period, but Army’s defense held strong.
Later, a delayed penalty against Marist allowed Army to pull their goalie, leading to a near miss as the puck rang off the pipe. A scuffle broke out in front of Marist’s net, involving nearly every player, including Russo.
Army sealed the game with another goal from their first line with less than eight minutes remaining in the game. In the final moments, Stoneman capitalized on a crosscheck penalty by Army’s Luke Gacek, scoring with 2:38 left to make it 5-3, but the Red Foxes couldn’t close the gap before the final buzzer.
Army’s resilience and early dominance gave them the edge, despite a strong push from Marist in the third period.
“First period we were laid on onto our forecheck and our back check was lacking, ” LoBianco said. “But in the second and third period, we were able to kind of overcome the penalties and we took our game into what we like to play. We got pucks in deep, and it was a lot better of a period.”
The Red Foxes return to McCann Ice Arena on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 4:15 pm ET to host their annual Pink the Rink game in collaboration with the tri-sigma sorority.
“My mom passed from breast cancer, so it’s a big game for all of us, and going into that third period I think the team kind of tapped into some of that energy that we are going to have tomorrow and came out flying,” LoBianco said.
Edited by Dan Aulbach
Kira and Graphic by Kira Crutcher
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