By Tyler Fennell
Staff Writer
The College’s men’s Division 2 ice hockey team took a major 5-2 win over Kutztown. The team looks to continue this momentum into the following games to make a push for the playoffs.
The first star of the game, freshman Tyler Hennion, was able to score his first college goal. The second star, senior Jakob Papiez, also recorded two goals in the game. The third star, junior Gabe DeMatos, recorded his second win of the season as a goalie.
“The boys had a big win over Kutztown and hopefully we bring that energy with us the rest of the season as we push toward the playoffs,” said the Lions’ leading scorer amongst defenseman, freshman computer science major Daniel Yakub.
Yakub also scored a goal, solidifying his role as the team’s leading offensive defenseman.
This 5-2 win over Kutztown makes them 5-6-1-1 on the season and was an important rebound after losing two games in a row.
On Feb. 7, the men’s D2 team will take on Widener University at Aston IceWorks in Aston, Pennsylvania. On Feb. 14 and 15, the team has two league games. The first is against West Chester and the second game is against Rowan.
In league, they are currently 2-1 and second in the Tri-State Division. They are currently tied with West Chester in points. However, the College has one game in hand on them. Rowan, on the other hand, is undefeated with a 3-0 record with the same amount of games played as the Lions.
If the College is able to win their next two in-league games and Rowan loses their next two, they will be able to jump them in the standings and take first place in the Tri-State Division.
If the Lions want to achieve that outcome, they will need to continue using the same strategy they have used to win in their non-league games and carry on their momentum in the upcoming games.
After their game against Princeton on Feb. 23, the playoffs will kick off on Feb. 27 with the Wild Card round.
All of the playoff games will take place at Winston-Salem Fairgrounds in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
