Dutchmen rally to win opener

*Photo provided by Justin Hall*

By: Justin Hall ’22, staff writer

The men’s ice hockey team rallied from behind and notched a late go-ahead goal to defeat Nazareth College on Friday night. The win marked the third consecutive season the Dutchmen earned a victory in a season-opening game.

The Dutchmen controlled the play in the first period and spent a majority of the time in the offensive zone. Sophomore goaltender, Aidan Richardson, fought off several Nazareth scoring chances, and the first period ended in a scoreless tie.

Nazareth took control at the beginning of the second period and notched a pair of special-team goals in the opening minutes to secure a 2-0 lead. The Dutchmen battled hard and eventually cut the lead in half when first-year, Blake Tosto, registered his first career goal on a wicked snapshot from the top of the circle. The second period ended with the Dutchmen trailing by a score of 2-1.

The final period was dominated by the Dutchmen as they carried a vast majority of the play. The penalty kill came up huge when they killed off a 5-minute major to keep the Nazareth lead at a single goal.

With time winding down in the game, sophomore forward, Max Loga, took a centering pass from senior captain, Danny Galvez, and buried it in the back of the net to even the game 2-2.

Instead of settling for overtime, the Dutchmen turned up the aggression and looked to take the win in regulation. In the dying minutes, first-year, Darion Benchich, knifed through the Nazareth defense and slid a cross-ice pass to fellow first-year, Riley Johnson, who tapped it in for his first career goal.

The Dutchmen battled hard to defend their lead and fought off a late surge from Nazareth to hold on for the victory by the final score of 3-2.

Coach Don Parsons praised his team’s effort after the game, “This is a special group we have this year,” Parsons said. “The way we battled through adversity and stuck together, even when we got down, was fantastic.”

The Dutchmen look to carry the momentum into next weekend when they take on Neumann University in a pair of games. The Dutchmen will hit the road for game one of the series on Friday, March 5.