Ramapo conquers its weekend ice hockey matches

Photo courtesy of Lexi Gray.

 

Another successful weekend highlighted by victories against Fairfield University and Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) has moved Ramapo up to sixth in the National Collegiate Hockey Federation rankings. On Friday night, the Roadrunners took down Fairfield in overtime on the road, with senior Christopher Dressler netting the game-winning goal off a pass from fellow senior forward Thomas Moskal.

In addition to the overtime winner, Dressler added two goals in the first period to give him his third hat trick of the season. Senior Eddie Dahdah added his 20th goal of the season, while defensemen Holden Gruber and Rick Kimble were each credited with an assist, leading to a 4-3 victory. 

Goalie Dennis McGarry was yet again on his game, saving 45 of the 48 shots he encountered. This impressive performance has boosted McGarry’s save percentage to .925, good for second best in the Empire Division among players who have started a minimum of 10 games, while his 2.52 goals against average is second amongst the same parameters. 

“We knew the importance of the game and for a sweep of a top five team within our division,” said Dressler when asked postgame about beating Fairfield University. “Friday was a battle until the last whistle as they tied the game late, but we all rallied behind solid goaltending to come away with a huge win.” 

Saturday night against SCSU was a much more relaxing night for the Roadrunners as they took care of business, winning 9-0 and only allowing 12 shots on goal. The game was the first complete shutout for McGarry, while the offense was able to net 80 shots on goal.

Following his hat trick on Friday night, Dressler netted another four goals for his team-leading fourth hat trick of the season. Junior forward Peter Paszkiel tallied two goals, while freshman Ryan Koliopoulos, junior Eric Freeman and the aforementioned Moskal each scored one.

There was, for a brief moment, a scuffle on the ice when Dahdah made a blindside hit on a defenseless SCSU player, leading to what was described by one player as a “brawl.” This confrontation resulted in nine separate penalties, five for Ramapo and four for SCSU. 

After the two victories, Ramapo now sits at 11-1-1-1 on the season, and is fighting with Quinnipiac for a playoff bye. The Roadrunners’ main disadvantage is their lack of games played, with each team ahead of them in the standings playing between three and six more games than them. On the other hand, Ramapo has defeated every team above them in the standings at least once, leading to their surprisingly high national ranking. 

With both games against University of Delaware canceled this weekend, Ramapo is now scheduled to play Fordham University on Friday, Feb. 18 at 10:00 p.m.. It is a rematch of the first game of the season, and a rematch against SCSU on Saturday night at home. As always, both games will be available via YouTube livestream.

 

wjackso2@ramapo.edu