RICHLAND TWP., Pa — In a Weather Shortened weekend, the Chatham Women came out on the wrong side of a 3-0 score to the Neumann Knights Friday night. The men fell to the Stevenson Mustangs for the second time this season, 5-1, in a game that had been delayed two days, to Monday afternoon, due to heavy winter weather in the area.
WOMEN FALL TO NEUMANN
The game proved to be a battle of goaltending as the two most recent UCHC goalies of the week – Chatham’s Devon Strachan and Neumann’s Helen Cooney – faced off. Chatham dominated the shot department in the opening period as they threw 13 shots at Cooney, who turned them all away. Although the Cougars surrendered only four shots on goal in that first period, the best opportunity went to Neumann’s Katelyn Brown who rung a shot off the cross bar behind Strachan. That was the closest either team would get to scoring, so it was scoreless after one.
Momentum in the second period shifted to the Knights who peppered Strachan with 13 shots. Again, neither team found the back of the net, but Neumann had the momentum heading into the third period.
The Cougars looked to make a push to start the period, but Cooney withstood the Chatham’s rally. After that early push, the Knights found themselves with a 3-on-1 and Brown found Jackie Schneider all alone on the back door and she tapped the puck into the empty cage just 4:02 into the third. The Knights continued to have the advantage and once again Neumann found themselves on an odd skater rush. Like the previous goal, it was Brown finding Schneider all alone on the back door, and she would not miss, doubling Neumann’s lead. The Knights continued to set the pace, but Strachan gave her team a chance making 18 saves in the third until Coach Newstrom pulled her for the extra skater. That lasted only 34 seconds before Schneider would deposit the puck into the empty net, giving her the hat trick and sealing Neumann’s victory.
Strachan made 33 saves in the disappointing loss. Chatham’s record dropped to 5-13 overall and 2-9 in conference.
Due to the weather in the Pittsburgh area, game two was postponed and will be made up at a later date. The Cougars will be back in action next weekend when they travel to northeastern Pennsylvania to battle the Kings Monarchs in a two-game series. King’s record stands at 1-15 overall and 0-11 in conference.
MEN DROP SEASON SERIES VERSUS STEVENSON
For the Chatham men, they looked to gain ground in the UCHC standings and avenge a 5-4 overtime loss to Stevenson back on November 3rd at Stevenson.
Similar to the first meeting, one team jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but instead of it being Chatham as it was in November, this time it was Stevenson. A pair of powerplay goals just under two minutes apart gave the Mustangs a 2-0 lead. The Mustang’s first goal came off a Dominic Brenza shot that deflected off the body of Houston Wilson and past Chatham goalie Matt Calas. For their second goal at the 15:45 mark, Austin Swingle took the puck from behind the goal and was able to muscle one past Calas giving Stevenson a 2-0 lead. Chatham looked to cut the lead before the horn sounded, but instead it was Wilson that blasted one home on the back door, giving the Mustangs a 3-0 lead at the break. Calas stopped 17 of the 20 shots he saw in the first while Stevenson’s Dustyn Moyer stopped all 5 shots he faced.
The Cougars looked to reverse the script from that first meeting and, with 8:27 left in the second, they got on the board as Mitch Popp’s shot from the point was deflected in by Liam Gentile. For the sophomore Gentile, it was his first collegiate goal and it cut the lead to two. Both teams traded chances through the remainder of the period, but neither team scored as Stevenson took a 3-1 lead into the second intermission. In second period, Calas stopped another 13 shots for a total of 30 saves through the first two periods.
The Cougars comeback hopes ended just 6:42 into the third as Aaron Murray ripped one from the point past the glove of Calas, making it 4-1. Stevenson added one more when Nick Gray scored an empty netter with 32 seconds remaining, earning the Mustangs the 5-1 victory.
Chatham goaltender Matt Calas made 39 saves in a game were the Cougars were outshot 44 to 24. The loss drops Chatham’s record to 4-11-2 overall and 2-7-1 in conference.
Chatham will be back in action this weekend with games on Friday against the Wilkes Colonials and Saturday against the King’s Monarchs. Both games will be at the Frozen Pond arena with puck drop at 7:10 PM. Chatham has a 3-0 lifetime record against the Kings and will look to improve to 4-0 against the Monarchs.
You can join Alex Lyons live this weekend for both matchups on the Chatham Sports Network: http://www.pacathletics.org/watch/default.aspx?Live=100&path=chatham.
