Over the past weekend, the Ramapo College ice hockey team took to the ice against Rutgers University and Quinnipiac University, taking down the Scarlet Knights on Friday night and falling to Bobcats on Saturday.
Beginning with their game against Rutgers, the Roadrunners found themselves in the middle of a high-scoring, physical affair. The match saw a total of 61 penalty minutes, 30 from Ramapo and 31 from Rutgers, and included five major penalties.
The scoring was opened up by senior center Thomas Moskal, who put through his third goal of the season four minutes into the game. The goal came assisted by team captain Rory Maurer and first year wing Jacob Hepburn. Four minutes later, Rutgers’ left wing Alexander Angress tied the game off an assist from left winger Christian Hoppeler. The Scarlet Knights would then take their first lead of the game as Hoppeler scored his first goal of the season off an assist from Angress on a power play opportunity.
It wasn’t until one minute remaining when Fizer recorded a hat-trick, scoring his third goal of the night, a game-winner while shorthanded off an assist from Hepburn.
Entering the second period down by one, the Roadrunners came out firing, scoring three straight goals on Rutgers’ goalie Corbin Divenuto. Defenseman Brian Atwell scored his first goal of the season off assists from Hepburn and Maurer. Alternate captain Anthony Fizer then scored his second goal of the season off assists from alternate captain Daniel Klutkoski and right winger Luca Carnemolla. Following Fizer’s goal was Moskal’s second goal of the night and fourth of the season, assisted by Fizer and Maurer.
The Scarlet Knights would get one goal back before the end of the second period, however, as center Anthony Poppalardo scored unassisted while shorthanded on a breakaway opportunity. By the time the second period finished, Rutgers held a 30-24 lead in the shots on goal category despite being down one.
On the same power play that led to a shorthanded goal, Fizer was able to take advantage of it to start the third period, scoring his second goal of the night off an assist from Moskal. However, the two-goal lead would be short-lived for the Roadrunners, as the Scarlet Knights would go on a run of their own to tie the game.
Poppalardo scored his second goal of the night, once again while shorthanded, this time assisted by center Cameron Egan. Moments later, center Gavin Rieger scored his first goal of the season, off an assist from left winger Kai Inoue.
It wasn’t until one minute remaining when Fizer recorded a hat-trick, scoring his third goal of the night, a game-winner while shorthanded off an assist from Hepburn. The win was Ramapo’s first of the season, and an important one coming as an Empire Conference victory.
In goal, senior Paul Fiorello saved 39 of the 44 shots he saw on the night, good for a .886 save percentage, while Divenuto saved 36 of the 42 shots on goal from the Roadrunners.
As for Ramapo’s game at Quinnipiac on Saturday, the Roadrunners left much to be desired on the ice, falling 9-0.
Fiorello faced an astonishing 72 shots on goal from the Bobcats, saving 61 of them, good for a .875 save percentage. Ramapo’s puck control was nowhere to be found, allowing Quinnipiac to control the puck in their offensive zone for the majority of the night. The Roadrunners tallied a mere 26 shots on goal, and the 46 shot difference between the two teams is the worst defecate from Ramapo ever under three-year head coach Mike Winters.
For Quinnipiac, the Bobcats’ nine goals came from nine different skaters, and 17 skaters were able to tally at least one point. Left wing Jake Russo led the way for the Bobcats, tallying three assists on the night.
Up next for Ramapo, the team will attempt to erase their memories from the Quinnipiac game against Sacred Heart University on Friday, Oct. 20 at the Ice Vault Arena in Wayne. Then, the Roadrunners will travel to Falmouth, MA to face off against Massachusetts Maritime Academy on Sunday afternoon.
wjackso2@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of Tessa Pofahl
