Coming off a close loss to Army, the Red Foxes (5-4) returned to the McCann Ice Arena once again for what many see as the biggest game of the regular season: the Pink the Rink game against SECHL rival Montclair State (4-5). Montclair State would ultimately come out on top in a physical 2-1 win, stunning the crowd and handing the Red Foxes a tough loss during their Pink the Rink game festivities.
Captain Christian Wilde would start the scoring off for the Red Foxes in the first by jamming a loose puck caught between Montclair State goaltender Ethan Blackburn’s pads, but that’s all Marist could get throughout the contest. Blackburn stood on his head the rest of the way, robbing the Foxes of great scoring opportunities and going toe to toe with Marist goalie AJ Schauder in a goalie duel.
Montclair State burned the Foxes on the powerplay to tie the game late in the first and took off from there the rest of the way. The second period saw Montclair State up their pressure on Marist, trapping the Foxes in their defensive zone as they inched closer and closer to breaking the game open, but physical defense with a little help from Schauder kept them at bay.
Upon going down one, the Foxes switched into a new gear and started playing with a different kind of fire, pressuring the offensive zone in search of the tying goal, but it would never come. With Ethan Blackburn not budging at all, saving big shot after big shot, Marist failing to convert on a 5 on 3 powerplay late, and Montclair State forcing clutch mistakes and turnovers, Montclair State was able to escape with a victory and leave the crowd and their opponents stunned.
“We just didn’t capitalize on our opportunities, and [Montclair State’s] goalie had some great saves. It was us shooting ourselves in the foot today,” said Marist head coach Anthony LoBianco.
“[Montclair State] was getting pucks through,” said goaltender AJ Schauder about his performance tonight. “However, my defensemen did a great job clearing guys out so I can see the puck. Just a couple of unfortunate bounces didn’t go our way, but that’s just how hockey goes.”
LoBianco had praises for Schauder as well, “Anytime he’s in net, it’s fun to watch. He’s a great backbone and when he’s in the game we have a chance to win every time.”
This game was tough on the squad, doing almost everything the right way but failing to capitalize. LoBianco held a long postgame meeting and team and a private players-only meeting prior to that.
“If this [game] doesn’t fire our guys up to come to practice this week, I don’t know what they’re thinking. Disappointment is an understatement in this game, and Friday-Saturday next week we’re going to be ready to go, and if we’re not there’s going to be some big changes in our locker room,” said LoBianco.
For the Pink the Rink game, the Foxes wouldn’t don their red and white jerseys, but instead pink in support of the fight against breast cancer. The McCann Ice Arena was packed with pink during the loss tonight.
The Red Foxes will next be on the road to play Merrimack on Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. ET.
Edited by Dan Aulbach
Photo and Graphic from Kira Crutcher