Farmingdale DII - Weekend Recap (DVCHC Eastern Showdown)

The Farmingdale State Rams Division II hockey team won two out of their three games played in the DVCHC Eastern Showdown. On Friday, they took on the Penn State University-Harrisburg Nittany Lions for a rematch of their season-opening matchup. After a scoreless first, Marco Malandruccolo put the Rams ahead with his seventh goal of the year in the second period. However, that would be the Rams' only lead of the game as the Nittany Lions would proceed to take control. They went on a 4-0 scoring run, expanding through the start of third, with goals by Sean Stevenson, Blake Hanson on the power play, Jake Stasyk, and Justin Yothers. Down 4-1 midway through the third, Farmingdale attempted to make a comeback. Malandruccolo's second goal of the game, followed by a goal from Kevin Manzi with 58 seconds left cut Penn State's lead to just one. But with the Rams net empty, Hanson scored his second goal of the game to give the Nittany Lions a 5-3 victory, ending the Rams six-game win streak. 

Looking to get back in the win column on Saturday, the Rams faced the Kutztown University Bears. It would be the Bears who opened scoring in this game, with a goal from Repsik at the 16:46 mark of the first. Ian Ribarich scored a game-tying goal later in the period, but was countered by a power play marker from Michael Derosa with less than a minute on the clock. Down a goal to open the second, the Rams went on a big run to take the lead. A goal from Bobby Lane tied the game, with Manzi scoring the go-ahead goal and Ribarich getting his second of the day. Joshua Bower got a power play goal to cut Farmingdale's lead to 4-3, but Manzi completed a hat trick at 1:42 to get Farmingdale back up by two. The Rams opened the third with three straight goals, courtesy of a short-handed marker from Malandruccolo and even strength goals from Brendan Dixson and and Lukas Ferazi. Frank Izzi and Chase Canestra finished off the third with a pair of power play goals for the Bears to bring the game to a more respectable 8-5 final score.

In their final game of the weekend, the Rams took on the Mass. Maritime Academy Buccaneers. Jack Dickie scored within the first minute of the game to give the Buccaneers a lead that would last up until the second period. It was then that the Rams offense came to life while also holding the Buccaneers scoreless. The three second period goals came from Nicholas D'Alessandro on the power play, Colin Cross on the power play, and James Jensen. After Cross scored his second of the game to open the third, Farmingdale found themselves with a 4-1 lead. Despite the sizable advantage, this game was far from over. The Buccaneers scored three consecutive goals from Ryan Glass, Jack St. Pierre, and Aidan Weir to tie the game at four late in the period. Less than a minute after Mass. Maritime's tying marker, Lane came in clutch with a goal that would lead to the Rams to an eventual 5-4 win.