It was a tough weekend for the Ramapo ice hockey team, with a loss to Farmingdale State College on Saturday and another to Fairfield University on Sunday. The two losses moved the Roadrunners to 2-3 on the season and currently places them ninth in the Empire Division standings.
Ramapo lost 3-2 to Farmingdale State in a rematch of last year’s Emperor’s Cup Finals. Farmingdale’s Timothy Duffy scored late in the first period off an assist from Ethan Boehm. Ramapo tied the game midway through the second period with a goal from senior Rick Kimble, assisted by captain Eddie Dahdah.
The game was tied halfway through the third period when senior Trent Shanley gave Ramapo the lead off an assist from freshman Brian Atwell. Farmingdale tied the game less than a minute after Shanley’s goal, as John McCann put one in the net off assists from Matthew Hawkins and Greg Hendrickson.
At the 8:55 mark of the third period, Ramapo’s Thomas Moskal was called for a boarding penalty, giving the Rams a power play. Farmingdale’s Boehm capitalized on the one-man advantage, scoring what eventually became the game-winning goal.
Ramapo goalie Denis McGarry recorded 56 saves on 59 shot attempts, good for a .949 save percentage. Farmingdale goalie Joseph DeCanio did not have the same level of workload, though he did record 36 saves on 38 shot attempts.
Sunday night’s game against Fairfield University was not as close of a matchup as Ramapo fell 4-1 at home. Fairfield’s Jack Brosnihan scored with one minute left in the first period off assists from Devin Kelley and Connor Momrow, giving the Stags a lead they’d hang on to for the remainder of the game.
Fairfield scored again in the second period courtesy of a Vincent Spaziante goal, assisted by Chris Mangiacapre and Michael Pitocchelli. In the third period, Ramapo finally got on the board with a goal from senior Daniel Klutkoski, assisted by Shanley and Dahdah. Fairfield would score twice more before the final horn, with two goals from Brendan Cullen, assisted by Ned Malolepszy, Brendan Burke, Steven Saxton and Luca Mandato.
McGarry was in net for the second consecutive night and recorded 61 saves on 65 shot attempts. McGarry is now averaging 51.4 saves per game on an incredible .938 save percentage for the season. Fairfield goalie Andrew Webb recorded 36 saves on 37 shot attempts.
Though Ramapo is currently on a three-game losing streak, the players and coaches are keeping their heads held high as they look to bounce back into the win column. “We’ve had good scoring chances, but we’re hitting everything except the back of the net,” said head coach Mike Winters. “I don’t know if the team has quite found its identity yet, but it’s something we’ve been talking to the boys about.”
Winters went on to explain that the coaching staff is still preaching a blue-collar mentality. “It’s going to take a lot of hard work going to the net, getting to dirty areas. Right now, the team is just trying to find that identity. Are we going to be more of a high-scoring, high-skilled group or is it going to be more of a deep grind?” he said.
The team has also been dealing with a variety of injuries, including having lost two of their top five defensemen. “We have lots of talent still, but right now we’re gonna have to work through it and find a way. There’s an opportunity for guys to step up and play big minutes,” said Winters.
Ramapo’s next game comes against Fordham University on Sunday, Oct. 30 at the Ice Hutch main rink in Mount Vernon, New York. The game will be livestreamed via the team’s YouTube channel.
wjackso2@ramapo.edu
Photo courtesy of Matt Pitek.
