CHATHAM COUGARS WOMEN’S HOCKEY
NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. — For the second weekend in a row the Chatham Women’s hockey team was swept- this time at the hands of the now 10-0 William Smith Herons. This latest setback occurred at home with the Lady Cougars dropping contests of 6-0 on Friday and 3-0 on Saturday.
FRIDAY
Former Herons netminder Devon Strachan started for the Cougars. The Herons struck first when Gina Scibetta scored at 11:09, giving William Smith the 1-0 lead. The Herons would score again 5:34 later, sending them into the locker room with a 2-0 lead. William Smith would increase the lead just 32 seconds in the 2nd making it 3-0, the first of four goals William Smith would score in a 4 minute 46 second span, ending Strachan’s day early. Strachan would be replaced by Austrian goaltender Theresa Schreck, making her collegiate debut.
“I was originally very nervous,” Schreck said. “It was going to be my first time on the ice with Chatham and I was coming in cold in a tough game. However, as soon as I made the first save, I reminded myself that I could do this.”
Schreck was the lone bright spot for the Cougars on Friday as she stopped all 24 shots in her 34:42 minutes of play including 16 in the 3rd. On the day, Chatham was outshot 38-16 in the 6-0 loss.
SATURDAY
Like the day before, William Smith struck first. Jordan Roetz scored at 8:03 of first period to give the Herrons a 1-0 lead. It would stay that way into the second, as the starting goaltender Schreck made several outstanding saves to keep her team in the game. William Smith took advantage of a Cougars penalty, as Jules Kennedy got one by Schreck, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead they would carry into the 2nd intermission. At the 17:33 mark of the 3rd period, William Smith scored their second power play goal of the day, giving them a 3-0 tally. The Herons finished the day 2-for-5 on the power play, while the Cougars were 0-for-2 and managed only one shot. Schreck stood out again, making 38 saves. The Herons outshot the Cougars 41-11 in the loss. The Cougars scoring woes continued, being shut out in the last 4 games.
William Smith improves to 10-0 overall and 8-0 in conference while Chatham drops to 3-10 overall and 1-7 in conference.
After turning in a solid performance on Friday, first-year net-minder Schreck made her first career start for the Cougars against the Herons.
“On Saturday morning, when I learned that I was going to start in my first game I was overjoyed because I could finally prove myself,” Schreck said. “Before the game I was nervous, but not nearly as much as the day before, because I knew what to expect. It was amazing to play because there is something about playing in a game that makes you connect with your teammates in a way that it never happens in practice.”
Chatham will not play again until after the New Year when they host Trine Thunder (5-4-1) in a two game non-conference matchup. Puck drop on Friday January 4th will be at 7 PM and on Saturday January 5th at 4PM with both games at the Pittsburgh Ice Arena in New Kensington.
CHATHAM COUGARS MEN’S HOCKEY
RICHLAND TWP., Pa. — The men’s team split their weekend series with the Elmira Soaring Eagles and Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen at the Frozen Pond Arena, upsetting Elmira 5-1 and dropping a contest to Lebanon Valley 8-4.
FRIDAY
The Cougars came out flying on Friday as they took on Elmira, the UCHC leaders. Freshman Ricardo Gonzalez earned the start, turning in a career game. Chatham took just 5:26 to score when sophomore Matthew Ho picked up his first of the season from Tristan Simm and Andrew Breda. The Cougars pushed the pace, and the persistence paid off as sophomore Eric Hildebrand doubled the Cougars lead. Breda notched his second point of the night with an assist on the goal. Chatham scored once more before the horn, as freshman Michael Lamison scored his first collegiate goal, sending his team to the locker room up 3-0- even though the Cougars were outshot 11-8.
Elmira would pepper Gonzalez with pucks, and finally ended up on the board as Connor Powell scored just over the halfway point of the game, cutting Chatham’s lead to 3-1. Gonzalez bounced back and didn’t allow another goal in the stanza. The Cougars were also strong on the penalty kill in that period keeping Elmira without a goal on their two power plays and Chatham carried the 3-1 lead into the last intermission.
Elmira came out of the locker room with the same philosophy they had in the second- shoot the puck. Gonzalez continued his stellar play, stoning the Elmira attack. That hard work paid off as fellow freshman Michael Lamison scored to extend the lead to three with 3:13 remaining in the game. With just 1:48 left in play, Lamison would do it again, recording his first collegiate hat trick. Gonzalez recorded another 14 saves in the final period giving him a total of 43 saves for the game and earning him his first career win at Chatham.
With the upset of the Elmira Soaring Eagles, the Cougars would earn their second win of the season- matching last year’s inaugural season total.
SATURDAY
Coach Michael Callan rewarded first year goalie Ricardo Gonzalez for his efforts in Friday’s win, giving him the start in game two against Lebanon Valley. The results would be much different on this night, however.
Lebanon Valley senior Brett Johnson picked up the hat trick and Export native Bryon Hovanec netted two, as the Flying Dutchmen opened up a 5-0 lead at the end of the first.
Cougars sophomore goaltender Matt Calas made his second appearance of the year, starting the second. The Flying Dutchmen continued to set the pace as Johnson scored his 4th at 9:03. Chatham finally got on the board at the 11:39 mark as freshman Tristan Simm scored his first official goal as a Cougar. Less than two minutes later, Hovanec answered giving him the hat trick and the visitors a 7-1 lead at the end of two periods.
Chatham looked to close the gap in the third, but Johnson once again scored at 5:38 to give him five goals on the night and an 8-1 lead for the Dutchmen. Chatham kept hustling and added three goals from Chad Bell, Chris Lutz, and Manor native Clay Plyler to make the final 8-4.
The Dutchmen forward Johnson scored five goals and added three assists for an incredible eight-point night. Export’s Hovanec netted three and helped out on two others for a five-point night in his homecoming. The Cougars were led by Plyler and Simm who both had a goal an assist. Matt Calas made 26 saves on 29 shots in his two periods of work. The Cougars were outshot 38 to 32 and were 1 for 4 on the power play.
With the win Lebanon Valley improved to 5-3-2 overall and 4-2-2 in conference. Chatham now has a record of 2-8 overall and 2-5 in Conference.
The Cougars return to action this weekend with a two-game series against the Trine Thunder. Face-off is scheduled for Saturday at 7:10 p.m. and Sunday at 1:20 p.m. with both games at the Frozen Pond Arena in Valencia.
If you can’t make it out to the rink you can join us for all the action here.
