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The Official Newsletter of Penn Men's Ice Hockey!!!    

RECENT RESULTS (Press Release) 10/17  PENN 8  WPU 4 10/18  PENN 7  Seton Hall 5    UPCOMING GAMES (Full Schedule) Friday (10/24) 7:00pm Montclair @ PENN Saturday (10/25) 2:45pm Georgetown @ PENN

NEWS AND NOTES: Penn hosts two games this weekend at the Class of 1923 Rink during Family Weekend. With a 2-0-1 record in league play, Penn is currently in 2nd place in the MACHA. Sophomore Cale Spaulding scored a hat-trick in last Saturday's win over Seton Hall University.

Quakers win two in up and down weekend of play

By Garrett Young

          Last weekend was just the third of the season for the Penn men’s ice hockey team, but it had huge implications for the upcoming season.  With two games against Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey League opponents, the team, 0-0-1 in league play, would try to use the weekend to propel itself to the top of the league standings.  The Quaker offense responded to the challenge, scoring 15 goals, but with 9 goals against, several weaknesses were also exposed.

            The team took to their home ice Friday night against William Patterson, and came out with a roar.  Five different Quakers notched a goal in the first period.  Junior Micah Cohen started the scoring five minutes into play, and sophomore line-mate Rob Rennert added the game’s second on a power-play goal five minutes later.  Sophomore David Gordon-Kamm added the next tally, and Freshman Alex Doucette notched his second goal the season to make the game 4-0.  With one minute remaining in the first, Sophomore Steve Skillen added the game’s fifth and the Quakers left the ice with high spirits and, perhaps too much, confidence.

            Whatever fire the team exhibited in the first period, the exact opposite was evident in the second.  William Patterson came out hard, and scored three goals in the first 8 minutes, one on the power-play, and one shorthanded.  The exuberant Quakers quickly found themselves deflated, and back in a game that could easily have turned into a disastrous defeat.  The team regained their composure, luckily, and an additional two players netted goals before the period was out: Freshman Matt Bessette and Sophomore Cale Spaulding. At the end of the second period, the Quakers still held a 7-3 lead, but their attitude in the locker room was much less celebratory.

            The third period seemed to start as well as the first, when Sophomore Justin Mascitelli netted his first of the game just 36 seconds into the period.  That, however, would be the end of the Quakers’ scoring for the day, and WPU did add one more with 40 seconds remaining on the clock, but Penn walked away with a win, 8-4.  It hadn’t been the prettiest win, but the balanced offensive attack that the team demonstrated could be a good indicator of things to come.  The Quakers hoped to improve their defensive play, but maintain their offense heading into Saturday’s game at Seton Hall.

            Playing against a Seton Hall team that was clearly overmatched, Penn did not come out strongly from the start.  However, like they had in the game against William Patterson, and, in fact, every game so far this season, the Quakers drew first blood on Saturday night in West Orange, New Jersey.  Rennert tallied his second goal of the weekend at 10:07, and the team added two more tallies in rapid fashion on goals from Junior Mike Bobys at 10:19 and Gordon-Kamm at 10:48.  It looked like the team could run away with a win after all.  However, only SHU would score again in the first, and the team would leave the ice deflated, but leading by two.

            The Quakers came out flat again in the second period, but again scored two quick goals halfway through the period, on tallies by Spaulding and sophomore Andy Kantrovitz.  Seton Hall added their second tally on a power-play, making the score 5-2.  Penn responded once again in the form of a Spaulding goal.  Seton Hall would add another power-play goal at the end of the second, and the teams headed into the locker rooms with Penn leading 6-3. 

            Though there was talk in the locker room of putting the Seton Hall players away early in the period, Penn was not able to score first, and indeed didn’t put out much of an offensive effort in the third.  Spaulding netted his third of the night, making the score 7-4, but that would be it for the Penn players, who, after giving up 15 shots over the first two periods, gave up 16 in the third period alone, and gave up a short-handed goal to make the final score 7-5.  It wasn’t a pretty game, in fact the team had only played well for short periods of time, but it was enough to take home another win.

            The Quakers now hold a 3-2-1 record, and are 2-0-1 in MACHA play.  The team hopes to recapture its solid defensive play this weekend in front of what promises to be a large home crowd against the reigning MACHA champions from Montclair State University.  On Saturday, the team will again take the home ice against virtual unknown Georgetown University in a non-league game.  These early games are must-win for the Quakers if they hope to sustain a run toward a MACHA championship.