The Ramapo College ice hockey team won a crucial Empire Division matchup against Quinnipiac University on Friday, defeating the Bobcats by a score of 5-4. The win moved the Roadrunners to a perfect 2-0 record on the season while handing Quinnipiac their first loss of the year.
The first period of the game featured a large majority of the scoring, with Ramapo receiving goals from captain Eddie Dahdah as well as seniors Trent Shanley and Peter Paszkiel. Quinnipiac scored twice in the opening period with goals from Zach Glass and Alex Chaconas.
From that point on, scoring was even with both teams scoring once in each of the final two periods. Ramapo scored late in the second period off a goal from senior Holden Gruber, and junior alternate captain Rory Maurer scored less than two minutes into the third period.
Quinnipiac’s Jonathan Parker scored late in the second period, and Jacob Noyes tallied the final goal of the match midway through the third period.
It was a second consecutive outstanding performance for goalie Denis McGarry, who saved 49 of 53 shots faced. McGarry has now saved 101 shots over Ramapo’s first two contests, good for a .950 save percentage.
“It was a real battle and a total character win,” said McGarry. “This was a game at the beginning of the season that set the tone for the rest of the year. We were caught on the ropes for minutes on end and we might have bent but we didn’t break.”
The win was not an easy one for Ramapo, as both Dahdah and Shanley’s first-period goals, as well as Maurer’s third-period score, came shorthanded. Both Ramapo and Quinnipiac tallied eight total penalty minutes, though Ramapo was the only team to capitalize by scoring on a power play opportunity.
“From shorthanded goals to blocking shots trying to help me out, I couldn’t have been happier with the way we wanted to win that game,” McGarry said.
For the second straight week, transfer student Trent Shanley led the Roadrunners in points, giving him a total of seven on the season thus far. He has been a welcomed addition to the team’s offense, which lost several key contributors from last season.
After the win, Ramapo and Farmingdale State College are the only two remaining undefeated teams in the Empire Division. Ramapo’s next contest comes on Saturday, Oct. 15 at the University of Delaware at 4:45 p.m. The game will be available to stream via the team’s YouTube channel. The out-of-division game should prove to be a big test for the Roadrunners as Delaware has a 6-1 record this season.
wjackso2@ramapo.edu
Photo courtesy of Kira Allyn
