Alison Muarer of the Stylus has penned another excellent recap of this past weekend's games:
The College at Brockport men’s ice hockey team finally turned its
luck around this past weekend against the Morrisville State College
Mustangs. They won both games in the home-and-away series.Friday night, they won 4-3 at home in Tuttle North Ice Arena, and Saturday they followed the Mustangs home, proceeding to trounce them with a score of 9-6.
13 goals would be enough to relieve any team. After the results of the first two weekends of the season; Brockport went into Friday with a record of 0-2-1.
In both games, the Mustangs managed to squeak in the first goal, but Brockport responded strongly with scores of its own, some of which were college firsts for the young team.
“We came out flat in the first and that’s never good, but we responded in the second and held on in the third,” Captain Aidan Verbeke said after the first game. “We finished the job and got the two points.”
During the first game, goals were scored by Verbeke, and forward Zac Sikich on power plays. Hunter Laslo and Brandon McMartin both had their first collegiate goals Friday night.
“I’m just thankful to be able to put my first goal in net,” Laslo said. “Thankfully, it was a game winner, which I wasn’t expecting, but I’m thankful for it. Every game I go in there and try to do my part to contribute to the team. Hopefully, I’ll be able to contribute continuously throughout the season.”
After the game, McMartin was seen wearing a white cowboy hat. The hat, of significance to the teammates, was an idea from the captains, not the coaches.
“That’s the will-over-skill hat,” Verbeke said. “We give it to the player who we thought exemplified Brockport hockey the most.”
McMartin himself was proud to get the accomplishment in his first game on the ice with the team.
“This hat is the award for the team,” McMartin said. “I guess you get it when you worked the hardest throughout the game. Whoever worked the hardest, and I was lucky enough to get it. It felt really good, coming into my first game and getting the first goal out of the way. Whatever helps the team win.”
The momentum from the first win carried over to the Morrisville IcePlex, where the Golden Eagles continued to get goals past Morrisville goalie CJ Sharp.
Saturday night, the Golden Eagles came from behind with a 2-1 score at the beginning of the second. Brockport answered with four goals each in the second and third.
Brandon McMartin added two more goals to his record, as did Alternate Captain Dylan Shapiro. Goals were also scored by Verbeke, Laslo, Sikich, Luke Bennett and Connor Hutchins. This was Hutchins’ first college goal as well.
Dickinson was pleased with the team’s progress.
“We were harder on pucks, which meant we had more turnovers and created more offense, finally got some pucks to go in,” Dickinson said. “Normally your go-to guys are the ones putting pucks in the net, but it looks like so far, a couple of new guys are getting them in.”
The team looks like it has finally hit its groove, and just in time. Next Saturday, Nov. 19, the Golden Eagles travel to Geneseo. Long-time rivals of the Geneseo Knights, the team will have its work cut out for it as it heads to the Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena.
The Knights currently have a record of 3-1-1, compared to Brockport’s 2-2-1.
The following game will be at 7 p.m. at Geneseo.
Source: http://www.thestylus.net/news/view.php/1025954/Hockey-snatches-up-two-wins-to-make-reco
