By John Syms, Part-Time Staff Writer
Originally Published February 20, 2024
After defeating West Virginia University (WVU) 9-0 on Feb. 4 at the Palmer Imaging Arena in Delmont, Pa., the Saint Vincent College (SVC) Men’s Ice Hockey team extended their winning streak to six straight games. As of Feb. 8, the Bearcats’ record is 11-3, having won 10 of their last 12 games. They are second in the College Hockey East (CHE) conference.
In the fourteen games that SVC played this season, they scored 68 goals and only allowed 28, the lowest number allowed in the CHE.
Despite being in second place behind IUP, the Bearcats managed to defeat the Crimson Hawks 6-4 on Sept. 30, at the S&T Bank Arena in Indiana, Pa. That was the first game that SVC played as well. Unfortunately, the team would succumb to IUP on Dec. 1, when they lost to the Crimson Hawks 2-4, their last loss of the season so far.
In the last six games that the Bearcats won, they managed to score thirty-one goals, with Nathan Loughner, freshman business administration major, leading the team with seventeen goals. Loughner additionally scored four goals during the Bearcat victory against the Mountaineers.
The hockey team has three games left in the season before they enter the CHE tournament. They face off against Duquesne on Feb. 9, Case Western on Feb. 16, and Pitt Johnstown on Feb. 18, all teams which they have beaten this season.
Logan Connelly, senior psychology major, has said that the season has been going very well.
“We have played well and really bonded as a team, and we really are a family and that shows in our play,” Connelly said.
Connelly has scored eight goals for the Bearcats this season and felt good about the victory against WVU.
“Throughout this year our team struggled to put teams away after getting a lead, but I thought our team kept our foot on the gas and finished the game well with a 9-0 victory.”
The hockey team managed to win four games this season without conceding a goal, including defeating the Mountaineers twice without letting a puck into the net. They previously defeated WVU on Oct. 20, at the Morgantown Ice Arena with a score of 6-0.
Connelly is excited about the rest of the season. “Coming in we had high expectations from the coaching staff and each other in the room and having an 11-3 record is really cool,” Connelly said. “We know we can do something special with this team and we have high expectations set for the CHE Division 3 playoffs that will be on home ice Feb 23-25, and hopefully we have the opportunity to go to Nationals in March.”
On Nov. 17, the SVC Ice Hockey team was ranked 22nd in the nation, but as of now they are not nationally ranked. However, they still have a chance to make the national tournament depending on how the next few games go. The top six teams in the CHE will make the playoffs.
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